PURCHASE, N.Y. -- The Manhattanville College men's soccer team defeated the College at Mount St. Vincent by a score of 3-2 in double overtime on Wednesday, Oct. 9. Two second-half goals from freshman defender Ruben Milano (Houston, Texas/Lamar), including the overtime game winner, were the difference in game.
Manhattanville (7-2-2, 4-0-1 Skyline) started the game slowly. Mount St. Vincent (1-10, 0-5 Skyline) scored in the 14th minute and the Valiants found themselves fighting to gain the lead for the rest of the game. The score remained 1-0 until the 38th minute when Manhattanville freshman Michael Mezzina (Pompton Lakes, N.J./Morris Catholic) found the back of the net after receiving a pass from junior Pablo Bravo Olle (Barcelona, Spain/LFG Bon Soleil) and firing a shot from outside the box. Mezzina's goal was his first of the season and career. The game did not remain tied for long. The Valiants quickly found themselves down again when the Dolphins responded with a goal of their own just 49 seconds later. The score was still 2-1 when the first half of play ended.
The start of the second half saw one major change, the insertion of Milano into the lineup. He quickly made his presence felt on a corner kick in the 77th minute. Bravo Olle dropped a perfect service onto the head of Milano who knocked the ball past the Dolphin goalkeeper. With less than 15 minutes left in regulation, the game was tied 2-2. The scored remained knotted through the end of the second half.
The Valiants dominated in extra time. They controlled play for most of the two overtime periods, outshot the Dolphins, and earned four corner kicks to Mount St. Vincent's one. The game winner came in the 107th minute when Bravo Olle once again found the head of Milano. Thanks to Milano's heroics, Manhattanville escaped and extended their unbeaten streak to seven games.
Like Mezzina, Milano's goals were the first of his career. They came at an opportune time to lift his team to a thrilling victory. Bravo Olle orchestrated all three goals on the night and tallied three assists to bring his season assist total to eight.
Manhattanville returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 12, when they take on Purchase College for the Battle of Anderson Hill Road at GoValiants.com Field starting at 1:00 P.M.
