PURCHASE, N.Y. – On a rainy Wednesday evening, the Manhattanville College men's soccer team overcame the elements and the United States Merchant Marine Academy, defeating the Mariners 1-0. The win improves the Valiants' record to 7-3-1 on the year as the team remains perfect in conference play at 5-0-0.
It would by
Jostyn Blanco (Norwalk, CT/Brien Mcmahon High School) providing the night's heroics, serving as the game's only goal scorer. In the 16
th minute,
Michael Mezzina (Pompton Lakes, N.J./Morris Catholic) would launch a corner kick in the direction of the USMMA net. Blanco was positioned perfectly, heading the feed into the net past Ashton Carey to put the Valiants ahead.
The narrow lead would hold for the remaining 74 minutes as the Valiants were able to successfully snuff out the Mariners' offensive attempts all night long. USMMA would take eight total shots on the night with four going on net, but
Luis Granados (Pasadena, Calif./St. Francis) successfully turned them all away for his third shutout of the season. The junior netminder has now lowered his goals-against average to 0.79, while his save percentage sits at .810 for the year.
The Valiants took 13 shots on the night, five on target. All five shots on goal came from different attackers, as
Jackson Ayres (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Prep),
Sebastian Testa (Clermont, Fla./East Ridge),
Demba Cham (Bronx, NY/World View High School) and Mezzina each joined Blanco with a ball on net. Blanco was also the team's leader on the night with three shots total.
The Valiants held an 8-4 corner kick advantage in the win.
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Up Next
The Valiants celebrate Senior Day on Saturday ahead of their conference matchup with Saint Joseph's-Long Island. The festivities are slated for prior to the 1:00 kickoff.
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