PURCHASE, N.Y. – Junior Cristian Araujo (Miami, Fla./Miami Palmetto) scored his team-best ninth goal of the season and the Manhattanville College men's soccer team clinched the #3 seed in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Tournament with a 1-0 win over the Misericordia University Cougars on Saturday Oct. 27 at GoValiants.com Field.

The two teams entered the day with identical 4-2 records in conference play, and the tiebreaker belonging to Misericordia. Manhattanville's victory was its 12th of the season, the most by the program since 2011.

In the 11th minute, Araujo intercepted an attempted pass from a Misericordia (5-11-1, 4-3 MACF) defender just outside the 18-yard box and beat Cougar goalkeeper Andrew Daubenspeck, sending the Valiant fans and sideline into a frenzy.

Manhattanville (12-4, 5-2 MACF) had numerous opportunities to add to its lead before the end of the half, but Daubenspeck made several highlight reel stops as the Valiants forced seven saves out of the freshman in the first 45 minutes. The second half featured tight defense from both sides, as the teams combined for just nine shots total, two of them on goal.

With the victory, paired with Eastern University's 1-0 win over King's earlier in the day, Manhattanville will face the Monarchs for the second time in less than three weeks, following a 4-2 victory for King's back on Oct. 13. King's defeated Manhattanville 2-0 in the MAC Freedom Tournament semifinals in 2015, the last time the Valiants made the conference tournament.

That semifinal match will take place from Wilkes-Barre, Pa. at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday Oct. 30.