Box Score WILKES-BARRE, Pa. –The FDU-Florham Devils women's lacrosse team handed Wilkes University their first loss of the season by knocking off the Lady Colonels 16-13 on Wednesday afternoon.

After leading 9-5 at the half, the Devils (5-8, 2-1 Freedom) trailed 10-9 in the second period before ultimately rallying for the victory. With the loss, the Lady Colonels drop to 9-1 overall and 2-1 in Freedom Conference action.

Freshman Joelle Manganella (Kenvil, N.J./Roxbury) led FDU-Florham with a game-high five goals, which came on seven shot attempts.

Five minutes into play, FDU-Florham led 3-0, thanks to goals from Manganella, Noelle Shirey (Pine Beach, N.J./Toms River South) and Brianna Capobianco (Williston Park, N.Y./Kellenberg).Leading 3-2, Manganella scored twice in 30 seconds to build the Devils lead back to three with 20:04 to play in the opening half. The freshman added one more strike before halftime and FDU-Florham held a 9-5 advantage at intermission.

The Lady Colonels came storming back by scoring five-straight goals over the first 10 minutes of the second half to claim a 10-9 lead. However, with 16:13 to play in regulation, Manganella evened the score and recaptured the momentum for the Devils.

Two minutes later, Shirey struck again and after goals by Brienna Reasoner (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central), and Courtney Rendinaro (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) FDU-Florham had a 13-10 lead. Wilkes remained undeterred and rallied back with two goals to cut the deficit to just one.

The Devils would not let this lead slip away and one goal from Shirey and two from Capobianco put the game away for good as FDU-Florham prevailed with the 16-13 win.

Capobianco finished with a season-high four goals in the win. Three was the magic number for Shirey, as the freshman totaled three goals, three caused turnovers, three ground balls and three draw controls on the day.

Madeleine Brownsey, Carley Smith, and Gabby Ford totaled three goals apiece for the Lady Colonels, while Smith and Ford combined to snag nine draw controls in the loss. The Devils earn their second-straight win despite being  outshot  32-23 in the contest and losing the draw control battle 21-10.

Next up for the Devils:
FDU-Florham has eight days off before taking on King's College next Thursday, April 17^th with start time slated for 4 p.m. at Robert T. Shields Field.