ABINGTON, Pa. – Lucas Fernandez (Stamford, Conn./Stamford) scored his first collegiate goal while Luis Granados (Pasadena, Calif./St. Francis) and Jake Rothluebbers (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union High School) pitched a combined shutout in net to lead the Manhattanville University men's soccer team to a second-straight win on Wednesday. The Valiants defeated Penn State Abington by a final of 1-0 to improve to 2-2-1 on the season.

The sophomore transfer Fernandez proved to be the different maker against the Nittany Lions, finding paydirt in the 18^th minute. Collecting the loose ball outside the penalty box on the far side of the field, Fernandez carried the ball in and weaved his way through three Nittany Lion defenders to find himself at the doorstep of the net. With Brendan Werner charging out of goal to challenger, Fernandez let a sharp angle shot rip, slipping the ball past Penn State Abington's goalkeeper into the lower right corner of the cage.

Fernandez' tally was the culmination of a relentless open to the game by the Manhattanville offense with the Valiants putting four shots on net in the opening 17:09 of play. Fernandez was turned away by Werner on his first shot attempt three minutes in, with Keanu Stingone (Kew Gardens, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) and Johnny Antolino (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) facing similar fates on their shots. The Valiants looked to extend the lead a minute later as Jackson Ayres (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Prep) fired a ball on net, but Werner rebounded nicely after giving the goal to swallow up the shot attempt.

After allowing five shots on goal across the opening 18 minutes at change, Penn State shored up the defensive effort over the rest of the contest, surrendering just two Valiant shot attempts across the remaining 72 minutes. Action tilted heavily onto the Valiants' defensive side of the field as the Nittany Lions looked to notch things even.

Making the start in net, Granados faced an offensive flurry in the opening half. The graduate goalkeeper was up to task, logging four saves in his 45 minutes of action. Granados did receive some help from his backline mates to preserve his half of the clean sheet as the Nittany Lions had a golden opportunity ten minutes in. A breakout pass gave Penn State a 2-on-1 numbers advantage charging towards the net. Granados dove to attempt an intercept, but the pass got through to Hugh Nungessor with an open net in front of him. As Nungessor let the shot rip, Johnny Antolino (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) came charging into the picture to block the shot and prevent a goal to earn a team save for the Valiants.

The Nittany Lions held an 8-6 shot advantage in the first half and did not let up in the second, outshooting Manhattanville 11-1 over the final 45 minutes. Granados gave way to Rothluebbers to close out the contest as the senior goalkeeper was able to successfully withstand the barrage. Penn State put three of the 11 shots on goal in the second half, with Rothluebbers stopping each of them to record the Valiants' first shutout of the year.

Granados was credited with the win to improve to 2-0-1 on the season and lowering his goals-against average to 1.50. Rothluebbers, meanwhile, saw his GAA dip to 2.80 following his performance.

Despite the wide final shot discrepancy, both teams finished with six corner kick opportunities in the contest.

Up Next
The Valiants look to make it three wins in a row when the team opens up a two-match weekend on Saturday. Manhattanville heads to Drew University for a 6 p.m. meeting with the Rangers.

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