WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The 2024 men's soccer season drew to a close on Saturday for Manhattanville University, as the Valiants fell to No. 20 Williams 3-1 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Valiants close the book on the campaign having made a second-straight NCAA Tournament, finishing with an overall record of 13-8-1.
Despite being outshot by the Ephs 26-5 over the course of the game, Manhattanville held its own against the team just two years removed from making a run all the way to the national title game. Williams struck first in the 20
th minute as Andrew Coelho was first denied on a penalty kick chance by
Luis Granados (Pasadena, Calif./St. Francis), but collected the rebound to bury his second goal of the year.
Manhattanville responded in the 30
th as
Alec Pineda (Port Chester, N.Y./Port Chester) delivered the final strike of what was a stellar sophomore season, finishing off a feed from Mashon Chetti for his six goal of the campaign. For Chetti, he finishes his gradate year with the Valiants with a team-high 19 points following his third assist. Pineda becomes just the Valiants' second goal scorer ever in the team's NCAA Tournament history after Michale Mezzina '24 accounted for Manhattanville's first tournament goal in last year's postseason run.
The Valiants were able to withstand the 13-3 shot discrepancy in the first half to keep things tied, but the Ephs were relentless all match long, continuing to dominate possession to a 13-2 advantage over the second half to wear down the Valiant defense. Williams broke the tie 2:46 out of the halftime intermission with Lorcan Mitchell notching his eighth tally. It was all Williams once the Ephs retook the lead, getting an insurance tally from Alex Bethencourt off a Felipe Gutierrez assist in the 62
nd minute.
Manhattanville was held without a shot in the half until the 79
th minute, when
Kenneth Suqui (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y./Sleepy Hollow) was able to put a shot on target that was denied by Ben Diffley. The Eph netminder also turned away
Jostyn Blanco's (Norwalk, Conn./Brien Mcmahon High School) chance in the 82
nd minute to preserve the win and send Williams to tomorrow 's second round to take on the winner of Cortland and Messiah.
Granados stood tall in the face of a barrage of shots, finishing with 12 saves to close out his collegiate career. The winningest keeper in Manhattanville history, Granados etched his name all over the Manhattanville record book with a final record of 40-16-11, 273 career saves, 24 shutouts and a 1.12 goals against average.
Pineda finished with two of the Valiants' five total shot attempts. Beyond Suqui and Blanco's shots on the cage in the second half, Chetti accounted for Manhattanville's other shot attempt back in the first.
Unsurprisingly with the ball primarily on Manhattanville's side of the field, Williams held a 6-1 corner kick advantage. The Ephs were whistled for 23 fouls, compared to 11 for Manhattanville.
VALIANTS on SOCIAL MEDIA For the latest on Manhattanville Athletics, follow the Valiants via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads and YouTube. #WeAreValiant #GoValiants
