PURCHASE, NY – The Nichols College men's lacrosse team pulled out a strong win today against Manhattanville University, taking down the Valiants 9-5 this morning at the GoValiants.com field. 

The Bison took this as an opportunity to even their record, going up 4-4  (0-0 CNE) while the Valiants dropped to 1-5 (0-0 SKYLINE)

The Bison offense was led by junior attacker Jonah Libby, who recorded a team-high three goals on four shots, including three on target. Tyler Olivo and Kane Williams each added three-point performances, with Olivo tallying two goals and an assist while Williams dished out two assists to go along with a goal. Conor Doherty facilitated the offense with a pair of assists, while John Caserta contributed a goal and an assist of his own. Travis Arnold made a strong impact across the field, scoring once while dominating at the faceoff X, going 10-for-13, and scooping up a team-high six ground balls. Defensively, Carter Renaud anchored the Bison in net, making a career high 19 saves while allowing just five goals. Both Renaud and Cam Ayotte each collected four ground balls, helping anchor the Bison effort, while the team combined for 28 ground balls and forced nine caused turnovers in the win.

The Bison struck first early in the opening quarter, as Caserta capitalized on a man-up opportunity at the 13:04 mark off a feed from Williams. Nichols continued to apply pressure and doubled their lead midway through the period, with Olivo finding the back of the net on an assist from Doherty. Manhattanville responded with a pair of goals, including one on an extra-man opportunity, to even the score at 2-2. The Bison answered in the closing seconds of the quarter, as Libby finished off a pass from Williams with 49 seconds remaining to regain the lead.Nichols carried a 3-2 advantage into the second quarter.

Nichols carried their momentum into the second quarter, scoring on another extra-man opportunity as Williams extended the lead to 4-2 at the 11:59 mark off an assist from Caserta. Nichols continued to control possession and broke the game open midway through the period. Jonah Libby added to the lead with a goal at 7:51, assisted by Doherty, and just seconds later, Arnold won the faceoff and went straight to goal to push the advantage to 6-2. Strong defensive play and key saves from Carter Renaud kept Manhattanville off the board for the remainder of the half, as the Bison took a 6-2 lead into the break.

Manhattanville opened the second half determined to fight back, capitalizing on a man-up opportunity just 34 seconds into the quarter before adding another goal to cut the deficit to 6-4. The Bison responded quickly, with Olivo finding the back of the net at the 9:51 mark to extend the lead back to three. Manhattanville continued to push, converting on another extra-man chance to make it a 7-5 game midway through the period. Nichols answered once again, this time with Jackson Hernandez finishing off a feed from Mason Little. The Bison carried their 8-5 lead into the final quarter as their defense held strong.

The Bison locked in defensively to start the fourth quarter, with Renaud making several key saves to keep Manhattanville off the board despite multiple extra-man opportunities. Nichols maintained control of possession throughout the period and finally broke through late, as Libby connected on the final goal of the match from an assist from Olivo to extend the lead. From there, the Bison defense continued to stand tall, forcing turnovers and limiting quality chances, as Nichols closed out the 9-5 victory.

The Bison will be in action on Vendetti Field where they take on the Nor'easters of the University of New England to open conference play this Wednesday, March 25th at 7:00 PM.