Montclair, NJ (11/10/04) - The Montclair State field hockey team saw its 2004 season come to an end on Wednesday as the fifth-seeded Red Hawks were beaten by No. 4 seed Manhattanville, 2-1, in the opening round of the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Field Hockey Championships.

The loss was MSU's fifth straight and fourth by a one-goal margin. It was also Montclair's (12-7) second to Manhattanville this season as the Valiants also defeated the Red Hawks, 2-1 at Sprague Field on September 22.

The Valiants got on the board first when Hand scored off the right side on a feed by junior Jessie Grasso. For Grasso, it's her ninth assist of the season.

With time expiring in the first half, BRITTANY PALKO scored in the middle of the Manhattanville zone to tie the game going into halftime.It was the first goal of the season for Palko with ALEXANDRIA KELLY getting the assist for the Red Hawks.

The two goalkeepers, April Yeomans and Montclair State's ROBYN APICELLI, each made six saves to keep the game close. Apicelli made 10 on the afternoon.

However, Paonessa found an open space in the Red Hawks zone and fired a blast off of a centering pass by Freedom Conference tri-Player of the Year, junior Danielle Lacroix For Lacroix, she extended her single-season record in assists to 16 on the campaign.