PATCHOGUE, N.Y. – The reigning champs are back in a title fight.

A year removed from lifting the Skyline Conference Championship trophy, the Manhattanville University men's soccer team is on a quest to make it two in a row when the second-seeded Valiants square off with No. 1 Saint Joseph's Long Island on Saturday afternoon. The top two teams meet with a spot in the NCAA Tournament hanging in the balance.  
How We Got Here
The semifinal action on both halves of the bracket did not disappoint. On Wednesday afternoon, the Valiants earned a third-straight postseason come-from-behind victory dating back to last year's championship run as Manhattanville held off No. 6 Farmingdale. The Rams struck first, breaking a scoreless tie in the 72^nd minute, but Alec Pineda (Port Chester, N.Y./Port Chester) gave the Valiants life with a beauty of a header goal in the 83^rd minute to send the game to overtime, where Jostyn Blanco (Norwalk, Conn./Brien Mcmahon High School) delivered the win on a penalty kick 3:46 into extra time to advance Manhattanville to Saturday.

Later that night, the Golden Eagles were locked in a neck-and-neck battle with Saint Joseph's Brooklyn. After SJLI just edged out a victory over the Bears in the regular season finale 3-2, it was another tight contest between the sister schools in the semis. Another scoreless affair until late, Jack Pulisic netted the game-winner for the Golden Eagles in the 76^th minute, keeping the top seed alive with a 1-0 win.

The Golden Eagles have reigned supreme over the conference this season, going a perfect 11-0-0 against the Skyline in the regular season and enter Saturday winners of 13 straight games dating back to Oct. 5.

Last Time Out
Part of the Saint Joseph's win streak came against Manhattanville back on Oct. 12. The Golden Eagles picked up a 3-0 victory at Manhattanville, handing the Valiants their first loss against a Skyline opponent in their last 21 tries. Saint Joseph's received a pair of goals from James Dacos ahead of an insurance tally from Devin Seara. Manhattanville was held to just seven shots total in the contest, the team's lowest output against any Skyline opposition this year. Luis Granados (Pasadena, Calif./St. Francis) finished with nine saves in the Manhattanville goal, while his opposition Giuseppe Vitale made three stops for a clean sheet.

Team Leaders
Manhattanville

• Points: Chetti (18), Blanco (15), Pineda (12)
• Goals: Chetti (8), Blanco (7), Pineda (5)
• Assists: Del Vescovo (3), Saranga (3), Six Players (2)
• Goals Against Average: Granados (1.65), Rothluebbers (2.18)

Saint Joseph's Long Island

• Points: Pulisic (28), Tolkin (25), Seara (19)
• Goals: Pulisic (12), Tolkin (10), Seara/Dacos (5)
• Assists: Seara (9), Dacos (7), Tolkin/Saravia (5)
• Goals Against Average: Vitale (0.95), Schineis (0.00)

History

• All-Time Record vs SJLI: 6-8-2
• Streak: SJLI W1
• Series Record at SJLI: 4-4-1
• Last Five Matchups (Home team listed second):
  • 10/12/24: SJLI 3, Manhattanville 0
  • 10/7/23: Manhattanville 1, SJLI 1
  • 10/8/22: SJLI 0, Manhattanville 0
  • 10/16/21: Manhattanville 1, SJLI 0
  • 10/23/19: Manhattanville 2, SJLI 1

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