WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – For a second-straight season, the Manhattanville University men's soccer team is headed to the NCAA Tournament. After winning the team's third conference championship in program history last week, the Valiants heard their name announced in the NCAA Selection Show on Monday afternoon and head to Massachusetts to take on First Round host Williams College on Saturday morning.
  How We Got Here/Last Time Out
Manhattanville will be making its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance this weekend after winning the Skyline Conference Championship Tournament for a second year in a row. The Valiants faced a slightly different postseason experience this year as the team earned the No. 2 seed in the regular season standings, the first time since 2019 Manhattanville did not finish the regular season atop the conference. It did little to dissuade the Valiants in the postseason run, however, as Manhattanville first took down No. 6 Farmingdale in a 2-1 overtime thriller, tying the game late in regulation off an Alec Pineda (Port Chester, N.Y./Port Chester) goal before Jostyn Blanco (Norwalk, Conn./Brien Mcmahon High School) netted the game winner on a penalty kick in overtime.

The Valiants then traveled down to Patchogue to take on top-seeded Saint Joseph's Long Island for the championship match on Saturday. With no shortage of offense, Manhattanville knocked off the regular-season champs 4-3, with Johnny Antolino (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) netting the game winning in the 83^rd minute.

While held off the stat sheet during the two postseason games, Mason Chetti (Ronkonoma, N.Y./Connetquot) was selected as the Skyline Championship Tournament Most Outstanding Player after continuing to serve as a leading presence on the pitch. The graduate transfer led the team in scoring during the regular season with 18 points on eight goals and a pair of assists, a total matched by Blanco following his two goal, one assist postseason.

On the other side, the Ephs are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since making a run all the way to the National Title Game in 2022. Williams will play host to the first and second round over the course of the weekend, with SUNY Cortland and Messiah making up the other opening round matchup on Saturday afternoon.

Williams carries a 10-4-3 overall record into the tournament, going 5-3-2 against the NESCAC in the regular season. The Ephs defeated Wesleyan 2-1 in double overtime in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC Tournament before falling to No. 7 Connecticut College in the semifinals, 2-1. Despite the conference tournament loss, Williams was able to earn an at-large bid following their impressive regular season, going 3-2-1 against ranked opponents. The Ephs' biggest win of the year came back on Sept. 14 when Williams knocked off then-No. 1 Amherst 1-0 to earn their first win at Cole Field over the NESCAC rival in 19 years.

The Ephs are ranked No. 20 nationally in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll and are slotted No. 4 in the Region I poll release at the end of October. Williams has been led by stellar play in net all year, ranking third in the nation with an .882 save percentage. Ben Diffley led the NESCAC with 5.06 saves per game and second in the conference with an .878 save percentage, the eighth-highest in the nation amongst all eligible keepers.

Saturday will mark the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

Tournament History
The Valiants are making their fourth-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, seeking their first win as a program. Manhattanville fell to Christopher Newport in the opening round of the 2023 tournament, 4-1. Michael Mezzina (Pompton Lakes, N.J./Morris Catholic) scored the first NCAA Tournament goal in program history in the loss.

Williams is making their 21^st tournament appearance. The Ephs are 40-17-10 all-time in the NCAAs. Despite missing the tournament last year, Williams went on an incredible run in 2022 all the way to the finals before falling to No. 2 Chicago, 2-0.

Team Leaders
Manhattanville

• Points: Blanco (18), Chetti (18), Pineda (12)
• Goals: Blanco (8), Chetti (8), Pineda (5)
• Assists: Del Vescovo (3), Saranga (3), Seven Players (2)
• Goals Against Average: Granados (1.74), Rothluebbers (2.18)
• Save Percentage: Granados (.697), Rothluebbers (.636) 

Williams

• Points: Mitchell (16), Bethencourt (12), Brown (5)
• Goals: Mitchell (7), Bethencourt (4), Brown/Grace/Labonski (2)
• Assists: Bethencourt (4), Mitchell/Keussom/Mix (2)
• Goals Against Average: Diffley (0.74)
• Save Percentage: Diffley (.878)

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