KING'S POINT, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University women's soccer team is back in the Skyline Conference Championship Tournament for the first time since 2022. After earning the No. 6 seed for this year's tournament, the Valiants draw an opening round matchup at the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Saturday afternoon.
  How We Got Here
The Valiant season has been up and down, with scoring coming in bunches between droughts. The trend was on display over the final three weeks of the season, with Manhattanville scoring 11 total goals in wins over Old Westbury and Purchase while being blanked against Lebanon Valley, Farmingdale and Mount Saint Vincent. The latter two send the Valiants into the postseason having dropped their last two matches, but a scoreless draw against USMMA in the conference opener way back on Sept. 17 loomed large, being the crucial tiebreaker over Mount Saint Mary in the standings to clinch the final postseason berth.

The Mariners went 9-2-4 overall and 8-1-2 in the Skyline to earn the No. 3 seed. A two-match win streak closed out the regular season for USMMA, notching a 5-1 win over Maritime before blanking Sarah Lawrence 2-0 to wrap up the slate. The Mariners have been fantastic at King's Point this year, sporting a 6-1-1 home record. That one loss came on Oct. 18 in a 3-1 defeat at the hands of eventual regular-season champion Mount Saint Vincent. The Mariners have quickly established themselves as one of the top programs in the Skyline, making a run to the conference finals last season in just their second season as a team. Now, USMMA looks to cement itself as a perennial powerhouse rather than a Cinderella.

Both teams have been led by top-10 scorers in the conference. For the Valiants, Mia Castaneda (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck) enters her first postseason with the Valiants tied for third in the conference in scoring with 12 goals. USMMA's leading scorer in Alexx Forman has found the netting 11 times, tied for fifth in the Skyline. The pair also lead the Skyline in game-winning goals, with Castaneda's five topping the conference while Forman is tied for second with four.

Merchant Marine boasts the conference's top netminder, as Margaret Ripperger has allowed just four goals all season across 14 games. Her .37 goals-against average is by far the lowest amongst all qualified keepers in the conference, although Manhattanville's starter Macey Girard (Branford, Conn./Branford) does rank third in the Skyline with a respectable 1.18 GAA in her junior season.

Last Time Out
While a scoreless draw back in September to open up conference play didn't seem like much to take note of at the time, the tie was the ultimate deciding factor in the tiebreaker procedures to earn Manhattanville the final playoff spot. The Valiants were one of just two conference teams to keep USMMA scoreless this season, the other being Farmingdale in another nil-nil draw on Oct. 12. Neither keeper was tested heavily in the regular season meeting, with Ripperger making one save in her effort while Girard turned away both shots on net she faced.

Team Leaders
Manhattanville

• Points: Castaneda (26), S. Sanchez (16), Barrera (14)
• Goals: Castaneda (12), S. Sanchez (5), Barrera (5), Brauer (5)
• Assists: S. Sanchez (6), Barrera (4), Cioffi (4)
• Goals Against Average: Girard (1.18), Bennett (0.81)

USMMA

• Points: Forman (20), Colpoys (13), Mitchell (13)
• Goals: Forman (10), Mitchell (6), Santasiero (5)
• Assists: Enterline (6), Colpys (5), Welsch (4)
• Goals Against Average: Ripperger (0.37), Fields (1.14)

History

• All-Time Record vs USMMA: 1-0-2
• Streak: T-1
• Series Record at USMMA: 0-0-1
• Last Three Matchups (Home team listed second):
  • 9/17/24: USMMA 0, Manhattanville 0
  • 10/12/23: Manhattanville 1, USMMA 1
  • 9/28/22: USMMA 0, Manhattanville 2

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