Box Score PURCHASE, N.Y. – Freshman Jamie Macchia (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) scored the only goal of the match in the 26th minute and sophomore Willie Silber (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East) recorded six saves to make the lead hold up as the Manhattanville men's soccer team defeated Stevenson University 1-0 in a heated non-conference battle at GoValiants.com Field on Saturday afternoon.

Both sides played a competitive game but it was Manhattanville that gained the edge thanks to Macchia. The freshman scored what turned out to be the only goal of the game at the 25:34 mark after connecting on a great cross from junior Michael Alcaraz (Burbank, Calif./Burbank) inside the Stevenson six-yard box. Sophomore Kevin O'Reilly (Stamford, Conn./Trinity Catholic) also picked up an assist for springing Alcaraz down the far sideline for the cross.

This goal from Macchia held up for the rest of the first half and the entire game, but it was the second half where things got interesting, as the teams combined for 10 cards due to the physical nature of the matchup and the intensity shown on the field. Stevenson as a team was booked for seven yellow cards on the day, compared to just two for Manhattanville.

Despite the physical battles, the Valiant defense stood strong for the rest of the second half and persevered for a victory over a difficult Stevenson team. Silber was brilliant in net for the Valiants and attained his second career clean sheet after contributing six saves on 13 Stevenson shots, including a diving save on Steve Hamilton in the 64th minute and a tremendous parry over the bar on a Yianni Sarioglou rocket in the 83rd minute that kept the home team ahead.

Stevenson might have outshot Manhattanville 13-8, but the Valiants had the one that mattered, which was the touch from Macchia into the back of the net.

Valiants head coach Gregg Miller was pleased with the performance of his young team in the defeat over Stevenson's veteran squad. "I'm really happy to get our first clean sheet of the season with the restraint our guys showed in the face of some serious adversity," said Miller. "We have a week now to get better and improve again, as we try to win some games consistently."

Manhattanville will next play at Gwynedd-Mercy in Gwynedd, Pa. on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.