PURCHASE, N.Y. – Host Manhattanville College scored two goals late to break an 8-8 tie then held on for a 10-9 MAC Freedom victory over Wilkes University Saturday afternoon at GoValiants.com Field.
 
Wilkes dropped to 7-4 overall and 1-1 in MAC Freedom play following the road defeat while Manhattanville improved to 6-4 overall and evened its conference mark at 1-1 after securing the home victory.
 
It was a back-and-forth affair throughout as the two teams accounted for 11 lead changes and ties in the 60 minutes of play.
 
After Manhattanville struck first the Wilkes offense responded with unassisted goals from Nico Lorenzo (Howell, NJ/Howell) and Matthew Bush (Lake Hopatcong, NJ/Jefferson Twp.) to give the Colonels their first lead of the afternoon up 2-1 with 9:42 left in the first quarter. The Valiants tied the game at 2-2, but it was short-lived as Ethan Weaver (Olney, MD/James Hubert Blake) took a Connor Daly (Oakhurst, NJ/Ocean Twp.) pass and found the back of the net for his eighth goal of the season to give the Colonels a 3-2 advantage. The Valiants answered back to close out the first quarter scoring with :45 left tying the game at 3-3 at the end of one.
 
The final Manhattanville goal of the first quarter was the start of a four-goal stretch that gave the Valiants some breathing room up 6-3 with 9:57 left in the first half. Undaunted by the rally, Wilkes made a run of its own scoring three straight to tie the game for the fourth time at 6-6 as Alex Myers (Cortland, NY/Cortland), Eric Ormsby (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) and Weaver all cashed in for strikes.
 
The teams traded two goals each over the final minutes of the third quarter and the start of the fourth as Bush and Myers recorded their second goals of the game tying the score at 8-8 with 13:02 left.
 
From there Manhattanville scored back-to-back goals, the second proving to be the eventual game-winner with 2:45 on the clock. Lorenzo scored for Wilkes just :19 second later but a Wilkes turnover and two big saves from the Valiants goalie kept the Colonels at bay for their final three possessions.
 
Wilkes saw a balanced attack with four different Colonels scoring two goals each including Lorenzo, Weaver, Bush and Myers. Carter Whittemore (Rochester, NY/West Irondequoit) finished with 16 saves in net.
 
Andrew Moynihan (Easton, MA/Lawrence Academy) went 15-of-23 from the faceoff circle and added two ground balls. Manhattanville held a 50-36 shot advantage while converting on 24-of-26 clearing attempts.
 
Wilkes looks to bounce back in MAC Freedom play Wednesday when the Colonels host Eastern University at 4:00 p.m. at Schmidt Stadium.