Box Score Boxscore
MADISON, N.J. – Sophomores Morgan Rebollal (Holtsville, N.Y.) and Brittney Smith (Stratford, Conn.) scored in the first half and the Manhattanville defense held off a determined FDU-Florham offense in the second half, as the third-seeded Valiants won the program's second Freedom Conference Tournament Championship with a heart-stopping 2-1 victory over the top-seeded Devils on Saturday afternoon at Shields Field.
With the win, Manhattanville (4-13-3) punches its second ticket to the NCAA Tournament in program history and first since the 2007 season. The Valiants will learn the place, date and time of their first NCAA Tournament game on Monday morning at 9 a.m., when the championship bracket is released. Check GoValiants.com on Monday morning for more information.
For head coach Matt Paton, the win serves as validation for the trials and obstacles that the team faced in getting to this point in the season.
“[After struggling early] I felt as we came to the end of the year, that we were playing our best soccer,” Paton said. “I knew that if we sustained that, we would have a shot. We knew that we would have to get through FDU and Eastern, but we were confident entering today.
“Obviously it's great to win the title for the second time. The NCAA Tournament needs to become a regular occurrence at Manhattanville; that's what we sell to recruits and players, that you want to come here and reach the NCAA Tournament.”
For her efforts both on Wednesday and today, senior goalkeeper Ali Bromson (Suffield, Conn.) (at right) was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player after making nine combined saves and keeping the top-two teams in the Freedom Conference to just three goals in 200 minutes of action.
In a match clearly defined by two totally different halves, Manhattanville's dominant first half was just enough to overcome a desperate and determined FDU-Florham team in the second half. The Valiants outshot the Devils, 7-3, in the first half, but FDU came back to post a 10-4 shot advantage in the final 45 minutes.
The Valiants controlled play for essentially the entire opening frame, eventually striking first at the 18:14 mark, when Rebollal netted her fourth of the year to give the visitors an early edge. Junior Natalie Green (Vernon, Conn.) did well to win a ball in the offensive third, and then sent a diagonal ball over the head of an FDU defender to a waiting Rebollal, who just tucked it under the crossbar.
Manhattanville added to its lead in the final four minutes of the half, as Smith scored a dagger that gave the Valiants a two-goal edge headed into halftime. This goal was also the result of some hard work in the offensive end, beginning when junior Amanda Suiso (Honolulu, Hawaii) stole the ball off the foot of an FDU back inside the 18-yard box. She then touched it to her left to Smith, who stabbed at the ball and just placed it inside the left post for her third of the year.
After 45 minutes of play, Manhattanville posted a 7-3 edge in total shots, including a 4-1 edge in shots on goal. Bromson stopped the only shot she faced of the frame, as FDU had few offensive chances in general and could not get more than a single attempt on target thanks to a Valiant offense that kept the ball on their feet almost all half long.
“In the first half, the girls came out and executed the way we thought we should have played all year,” Paton said. “We just put it all together today. Obviously we felt confident going into the half up by two, but I told the girls at halftime to remember that we were down two goals against Eastern [on Wednesday]. A two-goal lead is dangerous because the first goal can change momentum – and it did – but we didn't give up and came away with the win.”
The home team came out with energy in the second half, and halved the Valiant lead just 2:59 into the frame as Michelle da Silva headed home a corner kick from Lora Fink for her second goal of the year.
Despite the early surge, the Valiant defensive unit stood its ground and did not allow another ball to cross the goal line – although a couple balls came close. FDU's best chance of the half came with less than five minutes remaining, when Fink fired a rocket from distance that Bromson leaped up to save and then barely kept on the good side of the goal line.
The save was Bromson's only stop of the second half, as FDU-Florham controlled play in the midfield but could not convert those chances into on-target shots. The senior finished with two saves on the afternoon.
As a result of those missed FDU chances and despite only winning four matches during the season, Manhattanville will continue to ride its momentum all the way into the NCAA Tournament. And after being overlooked all season long because of that record, expect the Valiants to put a scare into some of the top teams in the country beginning next week.
