KINGS POINT, N.Y. – First-half goals from
Manuel Morales (Madrid, Spain/International College Spain) and
Alec Pineda (Yonkers, N.Y./Port Chester) were all the offense the Manhattanville University men's soccer team needed on Tuesday night, defeating the United States Merchant Marine Academy 2-0. The Valiants improve to 11-3-3 on the season and are 8-1-0 in Skyline Conference play, sitting in second place in the conference standings with a game in hand to close out the regular season.
It was all Manhattanville in the opening 45, with the Valiants outshooting USMMA 6-2 in the half. The Valiants logged four shots and a pair of corners in the opening nine and a half minutes, with Morales cashing in following the relentless attack in the 10
th minute off a Pineda assist. It was Morales' third goal of the season, his first since Oct. 6 against Sarah Lawrence, and ultimately went down as his first game-winning goal since Oct. 25, 2023 when he provided the difference maker in his rookie season against Saint Joseph's Brooklyn.
Not content with his fourth assist of the year, the Valiants' leading scorer Pineda netted his tenth goal of the year in the 27
th minute to spot the visitors a two-goal advantage.
Merchant Marine was able to generate the majority of the chances in the second half, outshooting the Valiants 7-2, but were able to only put two balls on target even with an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks to close out the night.
Back in net for the first time since Sept. 23,
Jesse James de Ruiter (Hoensbroek, the Netherlands/Eijkhagen Charlemagne College) earned his third shutout of the season and improved to 5-0-3 on the year. The junior keeper stopped the lone shot he faced on target in the first half before logging two more saves in the second half for the clean sheet. de Ruiter lowers his goals-against average on the year to 0.95 with Tuesday's effort.
Pineda led the Valiants with two shots on goal in the contest, with his two total shot attempts matched by
Marco Palushaj (Northville, Mich./Northville) who played 45 minutes as a reserve.
Up Next
The Valiants will play their final home contest of the regular season on Sunday, hosting Yeshiva at 2:30 p.m.
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