PURCHASE, N.Y. – The 2023 men's soccer season comes to a head on Sunday as the top two teams in the Skyline Conference meet with a conference championship and qualifier to the NCAA Tournament hanging in the balance. The top-seeded Manhattanville Valiants host No. 2 Farmingdale State at noon to crown the kings of the Skyline.
    How We Got Here
A pair of thrilling semifinal matches set the stage for Sunday's title bout as the top two seeds of the conference held off upset scares to advance to the championship game.

For the Valiants, the top seed played host to No. 5 Mount Saint Vincent on Thursday night. The Dolphins scored twice in the first half to put Manhattanville in a hole entering the final 45 minutes of regulation. The Valiants shook off the slow start and scored three times in the second half to complete the comeback and return to the Skyline Finals for the first time since 2021. Trevor Henderson (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) and Demba Cham (Bronx, NY/World View High School) tied up the game with their goals before Michael Mezzina (Pompton Lakes, N.J./Morris Catholic) buried the game-winner in the 88^th minute.

While he didn't face a shot in the second half on Thursday's win, Luis Granados (Pasadena, Calif./St. Francis) did enough in net in the first half to keep the Valiants within striking distance to make the comeback. The senior keeper holds a .797 save percentage entering the championship, third-best in the conference, while his 1.14 goals-against average ranks fourth.

On the other side of the bracket, Farmingdale played host to third-ranked Yeshiva on Thursday, using goals from Jose Gil Mejia and Anthony Bileddo to move past the Maccabees. Yeshiva cut the deficit in half in the 71^st minute, but the Rams held strong over the final 19 to make their way back to the championship finals for the first time since 2015.

It was only appropriate that Bileddo would deliver the game-winner for the Rams as he ranks second in the Skyline in scoring with 31 points on the year. The goal was his 13^th on the season while adding five assists on the campaign. The Rams also feature Justin Silva in net, whose 1.019 goals-against average was the second-lowest amongst all Skyline keepers this year.

Last Time Out
The teams met in Farmingdale on Oct. 3, a 2-1 victory for Manhattanville that would prove to be the Rams' only loss in conference action for the entire season. Rafael Castro put the Rams up in the 24^th minute of that meeting, but Manuel Morales (Madrid, Spain/International College Spain) scored both of the Valiants' goals to lead the team to victory. Granados made two saves in the win while his counterpart Silva stopped three shots.

Team Leaders
Manhattanville

• Points: Morales (12), Rabadi (11), Henderson (8)
• Goals: Morales (6), Rabadi (3), Henderson (3)
• Assists: Rabadi (5), Mezzina (3), Henderson/Sawyer/Cham (2)
• Goals Against Average: Granados (1.14), Rothluebbers (1.33)
• Save Percentage: Granados (.797), Rothluebbers (.810) 

Farmingdale

• Points: Bileddo (31), Castro (18), Gil Mejia (16)
• Goals: Bileddo (13), Castro (6), Gil Mejia/Raso/Lanouette (5)
• Assists: Castro (6), Gil Mejia (6), Baskin Jr. (6)
• Goals Against Average: Silva (1.02)
• Save Percentage: Silva (.757)

History

• All-Time Record vs Farmingdale: 11-3-0
• Streak: W1
• Series Record at Manhattanville: 5-2-0
• Last Five Meetings:
  • 10/3/23: Manhattanville 2, Farmingdale 1
  • 10/11/22: Farmingdale 3, Manhattanville 0
  • 10/12/21: Manhattanville 2, Farmingdale 0
  • 10/29/19: Manhattanville 4, Farmingdale 0
  • 9/19/18: Farmingdale 0, Manhattanville 4 

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