PURCHASE, N.Y. – Three goals and an assist from freshman Christian Flores (Avon, Conn./Avon) led the Valiants to a narrow 12-11-overtime victory over the Mount Saint Vincent Dolphins. After the Valiants conceded a five-goal halftime lead, Flores buried his third goal on a man-up opportunity just 31 seconds into the second overtime, sealing the victory for Manhattanville.
 
It was a tale of two halves for the Valiants as the team was electric to open the game. After just 3:01 of play, the Valiants held a commanding 3-0 lead thanks to two goals from sophomore Andrew Murray (Yonkers, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac) to open the contest and Flores' first goal of the game, a man-up goal, scored at the 12:03 mark of the first quarter.
 
Junior Germain Ngaba single-handedly kept the Dolphins in the contest throughout the first half and for the remainder of the game. Ngaba was able to step around Valiants midfielders and consistently unleashed shots from the top of the arc. Ngaba scored the first two goals for the Dolphins, with sophomore Colin Morrissey (Shelton, Conn./St. Joseph) scoring a goal for the Valiants between Ngaba's two tallies.
 
Up 4-2, the Valiants added two more goals in the final 3:37 of the first. Murray completed his hat trick, extending the lead to 5-2, before sophomore Ed Motherway (Suffield, Conn./Suffield) scored the first of his two goals at the 1:24 mark, giving the Valiants a 6-2 lead heading into the second quarter.
 
Mount Saint Vincent struck first when junior Pat McEnaney scored his first goal of the game just 37 seconds into the second quarter. Junior Connor Normandin (Stratford, Conn./Bunnell) scored his first of the game at the 12:54 mark, returning the lead to four. Normandin had himself a fine afternoon, scoring two goals and assisting on three more for the Valiants.
 
After a Dolphins goal on a man-up opportunity, Motherway scored his second of the game at the 6:25 mark before assisting on Normandin's second goal of the game, coming with just 3:15 remaining in the first half.
 
Mount Saint Vincent proved to be the better team in the second half, outscoring Manhattanville 7-2 in the final two quarters of regulation. With just 37 seconds remaining in the game, McEnaney scored his second goal for the Dolphins, tying the game at 11.
 
After the first overtime was played to a scoreless draw, the Valiants took control of the ball from the opening faceoff, earning a man-up opportunity on Ngaba's illegal procedure to start the second overtime. On the ensuing man-up opportunity Flores made a great cut towards the front of the cage and buried a shot past Ben Gashi, earning the victory for the Valiants.
 
It was a hard-fought win for a Manhattanville team that is relatively unfamiliar with playing with such a lead. While it would have been easy to concede, the team never stopped battling and now sits just one game below .500 with Freedom Conference rival Delaware Valley travelling to Purchase on Thursday for a 4:00 p.m. showdown.