NEWARK, N.J. – The Manhattanville College men's soccer team came out with the 2-1 victory Saturday, Nov. 10, over Medaille College in the first round of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Men's Soccer Championship. The match took place on the campus of Rutgers University-Newark, the top seeded team in Pod No. 3, while the third-seeded Valiants were able to best the second-seeded Mavericks.
 
Manhattanville (13-5) continues to pile on the wins this season and is inching ever closed to the program record of 15, which was set back in 2011 – the last time the Valiants qualified for the NCAA Championship.
 
Manhattanville and Medaille (12-6-2) both played sound defense in the first half, as the two squads combined for just four total shots and no scores. The first significant scoring chance of the game came from the Mavericks, as they were able to sneak behind the Valiants' defense in the 54th minute, but pulled the shot just wide and the game remained scoreless.
 
The contest remained deadlocked at 0-0 until the 63rd minute when the Valiants finally broke through. Freshman Alexander Juma (Harlem, N.Y./NYC iSchool) placed a square ball from the right wing and sophomore Pablo Bravo Olle (Barcelona, Spain/LFG Bon Soleil) was able to put it past the Medaille keeper on the one-time touch.
 
The second score of the game also came from Manhattanville, this time in the 85th minute off the foot of rookie Jeancarlo Vasquez (Mount Kisco, N.Y./Fox Lane). Fellow rookie Nico Diaz (Miami, Fla./Miami Palmetto) led another first-year Valiant Jacob Zlobinsky (San Francisco, Calif./Aragon) down the right wing with a nice pass and Zlobinsky was able to feed Vasquez for the goal. Vaquez's score would end up being the game winner.
 
The Mavericks did manage put together one last charge and were able to ruin freshman Charles Roberts' (Brown Mills, N.J./Pemberton Township) shutout bid with the clock ticking down to the final seconds, scoring in the 90th minute on an improbable bicycle kick.
 
Be that as it may, Manhattanville still came away with the 2-1 victory and now moves on to the quarterfinal round tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 11. The Valiants will face the host of Pod No. 3, the Scarlett Raiders, with kickoff scheduled for 12:00 p.m.