PURCHASE, N.Y. - Freshman
Jon Kyriakidis (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y./Pleasantville) knocked home a lead header from senior
Oskar Martinsson (Orust, Sweden/Uddevalla Gymnasieskola) at the 3:57 mark of the first overtime, giving the Manhattanville College men's soccer team its first victory of the 2017 season on Wednesday night, 2-1 over Vassar College.
The Valiants fought through a constant rain to improve to 1-1 on the year under first-year head coach
Steve DeMatteo, giving him his first collegiate victory as a head coach.
Manhattanville fell behind towards the end of the opening half when Hayden Van Brewer's 25-yard free kick found its way, untouched, through a crowded box in front of Valiant sophomore goalie
Tim Carsting (Falun, Sweden/Soltorgsgymnasiet). The Valiants quickly responded when
Martinsson's volley from 12 yards out off a
Kyriakidis cross found the back of the net less than two minutes later for Manhattanville's first goal of the season.
The second half turned into a physical, defensive stalemate, as the two teams combined for just eight shots over the final 45:00 of regulation, with players like Manhattanville junior
Michael Jean-Charles (Norwalk, Conn./Brien McMahon) and Vassar's Reid Smith applying constant defensive pressure throughout.
That physical play carried over to the extra session, until Kyriakidis' volley from 12 yards out sent the fans on the far side and Valiant bench on the near side into a simultaneous frenzy.
The Valiants will look to get above .500 this weekend when they take on two of three potential quality opponents at the Best Western Plus Cardinal Classic hosted by Plattsburgh State University. Manhattanville squares off against Johns Hopkins University Saturday afternoon before taking on the Mount Saint Mary College Knights or host Cardinals on Sunday; the three teams finished the 2016 season with a combined 35-14-7 record, with each team winning at least 11 games.
Manhattanville's next home match will be Wednesday, September
20th, when they take on St. Joseph's of Brooklyn at 7:00 p.m. on GoValiants.com Field