Box Score MADISON, N.J. – Senior Erick Olazabal (Milton, Ontario/Bishop Reding) scored with just under 10 minutes to break a 2-2 score and drive the Manhattanville men's soccer team past the FDU-Florham Devils on Tuesday evening in Madison, N.J.
 
The Valiants fell behind early FDU-Florham got on the board just 2:36 into the game as Ryan Hurdes snuck one past Valiant freshman goalkeeper Steve Singson (Deer Park, N.Y./St. Anthony's) to give the Devils the quick 1-0 lead.
 
Just over 10 minutes later Manhattanville returned the favor and put their first goal on the board as senior Moshee Kelyana (Scarborough, Ontario/Brebeuf College) scored his team-leading seventh goal of the year to even the game at one apiece.
 
Down the final 33 minutes of the first half, neither side was able to score again as both sides rattled off three more shots each to send the game to halftime in a 1-1 deadlock.
 
After the break, both teams were unable to get their offenses going again a brisk night in New Jersey for the first 10 minutes of the period. Senior Marco Blasetti (Yonkers, N.Y./Rye Country Day) picked up the first shot, that was initially saved but the rebound bounced right to classmate Zack Weidner (Glens Falls, N.Y./Glens Falls), who drilled the ball home to make the score 2-1 in favor of the Valiants.
 
Less than 40 seconds later, the Devils tied the game back up at two when Josh Corpuz picked up his first goal of the game, after getting the assist on the opening goal.
 
Over the next 25 minutes of game action, Manhattanville outshot their hosts by a 7-2 margin with the seventh shot being the deciding goal off the foot of Olazabal, who curled the ball into the goal from the left side of the field.
 
The Valiants defended against a late surge from the Devils as they held on for the 3-2 win, for their second conference win in three games. Final shots were even at 16 apiece, with shots on goal 11-10 in favor of Manhattanville. Corner kicks were in favor of FDU-Florham at 8-4, and the Valiants had seven offsides called against them, to the Devils' three.
 
In goal, Singson made eight saves on the evening to earn his third win of the year against three losses and three ties. Taking the loss was Andrew D'Angelo, who also finished the game with eight saves but yielded one more tally than Singson on the evening.
 
"What we needed tonight was a response from the players after our 'non-performance' on Saturday and that's exactly what we got" said head coach Gregg Miller after the game. "The statistics in terms of shots and saves are not a true reflection of how the game went, their keeper made a bunch of great saves but our persistence paid off. We showed battle and character and kept our discipline, it's the first time this season we got a win on the road and also came from behind in a game."
 
"A couple of guys who haven't played a lot recently came into the game and did a fantastic job, but it was an overall team effort that got us the win," Miller continued. "Now what we have to do is find some consistency, and be able to get ready to play another huge conference game on Saturday. The discipline we showed tonight was the key to the win, we conceded a goal early in the game and instead of folding we bounced back and showed persistence and got the result that we deserved."

Manhattanville (5-5-3, 2-1 Freedom) will get back to action on Saturday when the continue conference play against the Delaware Valley Aggies at 11:00 a.m. (note the changed start time), with coverage of the game available on GoValiants.TV and GoValiants.com. FDU-Florham (6-9, 1-2 Freedom) will head to the road for their next contest as they take on King's at 7:30 p.m.