MANSFIELD, Conn. – The Manhattanville women's soccer team showed some early-season resilience on Saturday afternoon, storming back from a two-goal halftime deficit to defeat Fitchburg State by a 3-2 score in a non-conference matchup on the second and final day of the 2012 Warrior Classic, hosted by Eastern Connecticut State University at the Mansfield Complex.
 
Senior Brittney Smith (Stratford, Conn./Bunnell) and freshmen Christie DeMarco (Valley Stream, N.Y./Valley Stream South) and Rebecca Brevé Cardona (Tegucigalpa, Honduras, American School of Tegucigalpa) all scored in the final 45 minutes for Manhattanville, with Smith's 74th-minute strike holding up as the match-winning tally.
 
Down by two goals and having taken only three shots at the intermission, Manhattanville turned up the offensive intensity in the second half and saw immediate results. Less than 10 minutes into the second frame, DeMarco cut the Falcon lead in half with her first collegiate goal, as she corralled a ball put off the post by Smith and deposited it into the back of the net to make it a 2-1 game.
 
Over 12 minutes later it was Brevé Cardona's turn to score her first collegiate goal, as the freshman striker evened the score in the 67th minute by putting home a corner kick by senior Sonia Occhionero (Montreal, Quebec/Kent School).
 
But the big tally came off the foot of Smith, as the senior scored her second goal in as many games to give Manhattanville its first lead of the afternoon with 16:28 remaining on the clock. For Smith, it is her second game-winning goal this season and, in a statistical oddity, gives her credit for the game-winning tally in five straight Valiant wins dating all the way back to the 2010 Freedom Conference Championship game at FDU-Florham.
 
Playing with a lead, the Valiant defense held firm and did not allow a FSU shot the remainder of the match.
 
The result might have seemed unlikely after the first half of play, when Manhattanville went into the break down by a pair despite the teams being even in shots at three apiece. Rachel Jamieson scored twice in less than 11 minutes midway through the half to give the Falcons the lead, but the Valiant attack finally broke through in the second frame to pull out the victory.
 
For the afternoon, Manhattanville posted a 14-7 edge in shots, including a dominating 11-4 edge in the final 45 minutes, and also held a 4-1 edge in corner kicks. Kraemer did not need to make a save in earning her second straight win, as the Valiant defense did not allow a shot in goal in the entire second half.
 
Manhattanville (2-0-0), which has already equaled its win total from all of last season in just the opening weekend, will come home for the annual Valiant Classic next weekend on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Valiants will play their first game of the weekend on Friday night at 7 p.m., when they host RPI under the lights of GoValiants.com Field in a matchup that will also be video streamed live on GoValiants.TV.