PURCHASE, N.Y. - Manhattanville University men's soccer (13-3-4, 9-1-1 SKY) is championship bound after securing a 3-1 victory over Farmingdale State College (9-10-2, 6-4-1 SKY) in the Skyline Conference Championship semifinals on Wednesday afternoon at GoValiants.com Field. Behind a two-goal performance from Tiernan McLaughlin (Yonkers, N.Y./Fordham Prep) and an early offensive surge, the top-seeded Valiants punched their ticket to the conference championship match.
Manhattanville wasted little time establishing its offensive presence, breaking through just three minutes into the contest. Manuel Morales (Madrid, Spain/International College Spain) opened the scoring for the Valiants off a feed from Peter Scotto (North Bellmore, N.Y./Wellington C. Mepham), giving the home team an early 1-0 advantage. The Valiants continued to apply pressure throughout the opening half, generating several scoring opportunities while keeping the Rams' defense on its heels.
The offensive momentum carried into the 35th minute as McLaughlin doubled Manhattanville's lead at the 34:02 mark. Morales and Marco Palushaj (Northville, Mich./Northville) combined to set up the scoring opportunity, with McLaughlin finding the back of the net to extend the advantage to 2-0. Manhattanville maintained control through the remainder of the period, out shooting Farmingdale State 11-5 in the opening 45 minutes to carry a two-goal cushion into halftime.
The Valiants picked up right where they left off following the half, adding their third goal just over five minutes into the second half. After a header attempt from Luis Del Riego (Madrid, Spain/Rafa Nadal International) was stopped by Farmingdale goalkeeper Vas Dallas, McLaughlin capitalized on the opportunity at the 50:09 mark to give Manhattanville a 3-0 lead.
Manhattanville remained composed defensively as Farmingdale State increased its offensive pressure. The Rams generated 12 second-half shots, but the Valiants held firm behind a strong performance from goalkeeper Jesse James de Ruiter (Hoensbroek, the Netherlands/Eijkhagen Charlemagne College).
The Rams eventually broke through in the 84th minute as Josue Corea found the back of the net at 83:06 to cut the deficit to 3-1. The Rams continued searching for a late comeback, but de Ruiter delivered a pair of consecutive saves less than a minute later to preserve Manhattanville's two-goal advantage. The Valiants successfully closed out the remaining minutes to secure their place in the championship match.
McLaughlin led the Manhattanville attack with two goals on five shots, including two attempts on target. Morales contributed to both first-half goals, finishing with a goal and an assist while recording three shots. Scotto and Palushaj each added an assist in the victory.
Between the posts, de Ruiter played all 90 minutes and finished with six saves, anchoring a Manhattanville defense that limited the Rams to one goal despite facing 17 shots.
With the semifinal victory, Manhattanville advances to the Skyline Conference Championship final, moving one win away from claiming the conference title. The Valiants will look to carry their postseason momentum into the championship match.
UP NEXT
The Valiants Skyline Conference Championship match will be held Saturday at GoValiants.com Field.
