CORTLAND, N.Y. – Taking on their second ranked team in the early going of the season, the Manhattanville College men's soccer team suffered their first loss of the season on Wednesday night, falling 4-0 at No. 10 SUNY Cortland. The loss drops the Valiants to 0-1-2 to begin the year.

The Red Dragons were relentless on the attack, firing 26 total shots throughout the night and putting 16 on target. Matt Shultz was responsible for six of the shot attempts, scoring three goals to record a hat trick for Cortland.

It was by the far the busiest Manhattanville senior netminder Luis Granados (Pasadena, Calif./St. Francis) has been this season as he was tasked with being the last line of defense against the Red Dragon shooters. The Skyline Conference Defensive Player of the Week finished the night with 12 saves, tying his career-high that he posted in his collegiate debut against Amherst on Sept. 15, 2021.

Shultz scored twice in the first half for Cortland, striking in the sixth and 20^th minutes. While the Valiants did get their chances with seven shots in the half, only two were on target, with Red Dragon keeper Jordan Ott successfully turning away the attempts from Demba Cham (Bronx, NY/World View High School) and Keanu Stingone (Kew Gardens, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy).

While Cortland added two more goals in the second half, the Red Dragons were also able to control possession for a majority of the closing 45 minutes, outshooting Manhattanville 17-3. The Valiants were unable to get another ball on net as Schultz completed his hat trick in the 48^th minute before Yasin Choukri netted an insurance tally in the 71^st.

Stingone and Michael Mezzina (Pompton Lakes, N.J./Morris Catholic) led the Valiant shooters with three shots apiece. Cham finished the night with a pair of shots, while Sebastian Testa (Clermont, Fla./East Ridge) and Manuel Morales (Madrid, Spain/International College Spain) had one each.

Cortland took seven corners compared to the four of the Valiants.

Up Next
The Valiants return home on Saturday afternoon looking to secure their first win. The team plays host to Hunter College at 1 p.m.