PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville University men's soccer team begins its quest for a three-peat on Saturday when the Valiants make a sixth-consecutive appearance in the Skyline Conference Championship Tournament. Despite positioning themselves as the top dogs in the conference over the last two years with back-to-back titles, Manhattanville finds itself in uncharted territory, playing in the Skyline First Round for the first time in the postseason run as the No. 4 seed and opening the postseason with a date against No. 5 Farmingdale State on Saturday.
  How We Got Here
After securing top seeds in each of the previous five postseason runs, the Valiants finished the 2025 campaign 8-10-1 overall and 6-4-1 in the Skyline to place fourth in the conference standings. Manhattanville's quest for a third-straight conference title will have an additional step as a result, as the Valiants were unable to earn the first round bye award to the top two seeds. After a touch-and-go start to the conference slate, Manhattanville came into its own with a three-match win streak from Oct. 7 to 18, outscoring Sarah Lawrence, Saint Joseph's Brooklyn and Maritime by a margin of 15-0 in the win streak to solidify the Valiants' place in the playoff picture. While Manhattanville did go 1-2 over its final three games to end the regular season, the two losses came by a goal apiece, and for an even brighter spot, the win came against Farmingdale last Saturday.

Goal scoring has come at a premium for the Valiants at times during the season, with Manhattanville scoring more than two goals in just three games this year. Nico Del Vescovo (Flanders, N.J./Mount Olive) has served as Manhattanville's leading striker as the senior has continued his development into one of the Valiants' top players with seven goals this year, improving upon his career-high seven points from his junior campaign. Junior transfer Roberto Velasquez-Osorio (Monticello, N.Y./Monticello) has also shined in his first year in a Valiant uni with five goals, while Aiden Sivio (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) and Griffin Van Cott (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen) have netted four each.

On the backline, AJ Lucas (Beacon, N.Y./Beacon) has started in all but Wednesday's regular-season finale in net, going 8-9-1 with five shutouts, a 1.44 goals-against average and 58 total saves. The senior is tied for the conference lead in shutouts with Mount Saint Vincent's Samuel Reine.

Farmingdale went 5-8-4 overall on the year and 4-3-4 in the Skyline to secure the No. 5 seed. After winning back-to-back conference games over Purchase and Saint Joseph's Long Island on Oct. 7 and 11, the Rams stumbled with a 1-3-1 mark to close out the slate, but head into the playoffs as winners in their last contest with a 2-1 victory over Maritime on Wednesday.

The Rams have had their own scoring struggles with 26 goals on the year, the fourth-fewest in the conference. Josue Granados, Lucca Noboa, and Tyree Baskin Jr. have each reached double-digit point totals during the regular season, while the Rams' goalkeeping duo of Vas Dallas and Rocco Dispinseri hold goals-against averages of 1.87 and 2.60, respectively.

Last Time Out
The teams met in Farmingdale a week prior to their postseason clash. After a scoreless opening half, the Valiants got a pair of goals from Alex Rojas (Mastic, N.Y./William Floyd) and Velasquez-Osorio and withstood a strike from Noboa in the 86^th minutes to capture the 2-1 win. Lucas finished with three saves in the Valiant net, while Dispinseri made four in the loss for the Rams. Manhattanville outshot Farmingdale 19-11 in the contest.

Postseason History
Farmingdale has also been a mainstay in the Skyline postseason picture, making its seventh-straight appearance in the Conference Championship Tournament. The Valiants and Rams have been familiar foes in the postseason, meeting in each of the previous two brackets. Last year, Manhattanville won a 2-1 overtime thriller in the semifinals thanks to Alec Pineda's (Yonkers, N.Y./Port Chester) game-tying strike in the 83^rd minute ahead of Jostyn Blanco's (Norwalk, Conn./Brien Mcmahon High School) penalty kick winner in the extra period. In 2023, the Valiants once again staged a second-half comeback against the Rams to win 2-1 in the championship game.

Team Leaders
Manhattanville

• Points: Del Vescovo (15), Velasquez-Osorio (12), Sivio (8), Van Cott (8)
• Goals: Del Vescovo (7), Velasquez-Osorio (5), Sivio (4), Van Cott (4)
• Assists: Sarango (4), Morales (3), Five Players (2)
• Goals Against Average: Lucas (1.44), Whitfield (3.00)
• Save Percentage: Lucas (.690), Whitfield (.625)

Farmingdale

• Points: Granados (17), Noboa (12), Baskin Jr. (11)
• Goals: Granados (6), Noboa (5), Baskin Jr. (4)
• Assists: Hernandez (6), Granados (5), Baskin Jr. (3)
• Goals Against Average: Dallas (1.87), Dispinseri (2.60)
• Save Percentage: Dallas (.755), Dispinseri (.690)

History

• All-Time Record vs Farmingdale: 15-3-0
• Streak: Manhattanville W5
• Series Record at Manhattanville: 8-2-0
• Last Five Matchups (Home team listed second):
  • 10/25/25: Manhattanville 2, Farmingdale 1
  • 11/6/24: Farmingdale 1, Manhattanville 2 (OT, Skyline Semifinals)
  • 9/28/24: Farmingdale 0, Manhattanville 1
  • 11/5/23: Farmingdale 1, Manhattanville 2 (Skyline Finals)
  • 10/3/23: Manhattanville 2, Farmingdale 1 

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