PURCHASE-N.Y. – The Manhattanville University (14-3-4, 9-1-1 SKY) men's soccer team has been crowned Skyline Conference Champions after defeating St. Joseph's University Long Island (8-6-3, 7-3-1 SKY), 3-1 in the conference championship match on Saturday evening.
The Valiants wasted little time establishing their offensive presence, striking three times within the opening 22 minutes to build a dominant first-half advantage.
Manhattanville opened the scoring in the 11
th minute as
Alex Rojas (Mastic, N.Y./William Floyd) found the back of the net at 10:46 off a feed from
Manuel Morales (Madrid, Spain/International College Spain), giving the Valiants an early 1-0 lead.
Just under six minutes later,
Tiernan McLaughlin (Yonkers, N.Y./Fordham Prep) doubled the advantage at 16:26, with an assist by
Koky Duarte (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) to put Manhattanville ahead 2-0. This marked McLaughlin's third goal across the Skyline Championship tournament play.
The Valiants continued their offensive surge in the 22nd minute when
Luis Del Riego (Madrid, Spain/Rafa Nadal International) delivered the team's third goal of the contest at 21:25, with Morales recording his second assist of the evening. The early offensive explosion gave Manhattanville a 3-0 lead that it carried into halftime.
Manhattanville continued to generate scoring opportunities throughout the remainder of the opening period.
Emanuele Ricci (Como, Italy/Liceo Orsoline Dedalo Como) registered a pair of attempts, including a strike off the crossbar in the 39th minute, while
Manuel Morales (Madrid, Spain/International College Spain) forced a save from Golden Eagles goalkeeper Dean Burchard in the 31st minute.
St. Joseph's Long Island emerged from halftime looking to erase the deficit, applying consistent offensive pressure through the early stages of the second period. The Golden Eagles generated several scoring chances, but the Manhattanville defensive unit held strong, with goalkeeper
Jesse James de Ruiter (Hoensbroek, the Netherlands/Eijkhagen Charlemagne College) making a key stop against Jhon Garces in the 60th minute.
The Golden Eagles eventually put a goal on the scoreboard at 66:45 when Liam McDermott scored off an assist from Edson Munoz, trimming Manhattanville's advantage to 3-1.
Despite the response, the Valiants continued to create offensive opportunities while protecting their two-goal lead.
Marco Palushaj (Northville, Mich./Northville),
Alex Guevara (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas), and
Roberto Velasquez-Osorio (Monticello, N.Y./Monticello) all contributed second-half shot attempts as Manhattanville maintained pressure in the attacking third.
As the final minutes approached,
Aiden Sivio (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) placed a header on target in the 85th minute, forcing another save from Burchard.
Nickolas Pagan (Valley Stream, N.Y./Valley Stream North) followed with a header in the closing seconds, but the Golden Eagles goalkeeper was there to make the stop.
With the final whistle, the Valiants secured the 3-1 victory and celebrated their Skyline Conference Championship, completing a postseason run highlighted by an explosive offensive performance in the title match.
De Ruiter played all 90 minutes in net for the Valiants and had three saves out of the Golden Eagles' four shots on goal.
Up Next
Manhattanville awaits its NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship tournament match up.
