PURCHASE, N.Y. – Finding the most opportune time to notch his first goal of the season,
Michael Mezzina (Pompton Lakes, N.J./Morris Catholic) accounted for all the offense for the Manhattanville College men's soccer team on Saturday night, lifting the Valiants to a 1-0 win over Mount Saint Vincent. The Valiants improve to 4-3-1 overall on the year and are now 2-0-0 to begin Skyline Conference play.
In a defensive-heavy battle that remained scoreless through the first half, Mezzina would capitalize on a golden opportunity in the 55
th minute. Mount Saint Vincent was charged a foul inside their penalty area, granting the senior a penalty kick opportunity. Mezzina drilled the shot past Dolphin keeper Joel Luna to put the Valiants on the board with a lead that would stick the rest fo the night.
The victory on Saturday represented one of the few things last year's Valiant team was unable to do: defeat the Dolphins. Manhattanville went 10-0-1 in regular season conference play a season ago, with the one draw coming in a 1-1 tie against Mount Saint Vincent. The two teams would meet again later down the road in the Skyline Conference Finals which saw the Dolphins raise the trophy after a 2-0 win. After a year of sitting on the loss, the Valiants were able to overcome the team that brought an end to their postseason run.
While Mezzina played the role of hero offensively, it was
Luis Granados (Pasadena, Calif./St. Francis) once again standing tall in net for the Valiants. The junior keeper posted a clean sheet with a three save effort to log his second complete game shutout of the season. Granados lowered his goals-against average on the year to 1.04, the third lowest mark in the conference.
The Valiants narrowly outshot the Dolphins, 14-13, while also winning the battle of on target shots, 5-3. In addition to his tally, Mezzina led the team with two shots on net.
Sebastian Testa (Clermont, Fla./East Ridge),
Demba Cham (Bronx, NY/World View High School) and
Jostyn Blanco (Norwalk, CT/Brien Mcmahon High School) were each credited with one shot on net.
Kendall Davis (Atlanta, Georgia/Immaculata) had a team-leading four total shot attempts on the evening.
Mount Saint Vincent held an 8-4 corner kick advantage. In a game that grew increasingly physical as it progressed, seven yellow cards were assessed in the second half.
Up Next
The Valiants return to the field they claimed victory on Saturday night on Tuesday evening when the Battle of Anderson Hill Road renews for 2022. Manhattanville takes on Purchase College on the Panthers' home turf at 6 p.m.
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