NEWARK, N.J. – On a night where defense took center stage, the Manhattanville University men's soccer team battled to a scoreless draw at Rutgers-Newark on Wednesday night. The Valiants move to 3-0-3 on the season with the decision.
It is the second time in recorded program history that the Valiants have drawn three of their first six games, with the previous time happening in 2023. This season also marks the first time since 1999 Manhattanville has not taken a loss across the first six matches of the year.
Coming off his first two wins of the season over the weekend,
Jesse James de Ruiter (Hoensbroek, the Netherlands/Eijkhagen Charlemagne College) got netminder duties on Wednesday night. The junior turned away the lone shot on target he faced, with the Scarlet Raiders holding a 15-5 advantage on total shots in the contest.
The Valiants were held to their lowest shot total since Oct. 4, 2025 when they were held to four against Saint Joseph's Long Island. Manhattanville was limited to just two balls on target, a first half try by
Koky Duarte (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) and an attempt in the 57
th minute by
Marco Palushaj (Northville, Mich./Northville).
Alec Pineda (Yonkers, N.Y./Port Chester) finished with a team-high two total shots.
Roberto Velasquez-Osorio (Monticello, N.Y./Monticello) also added one coming off the bench.
Despite finishing with just one shot on net, Rutgers-Newark had no shortage of opportunities, drawing seven corners to the Valiants' one.
Up Next
Manhattanville makes its long-awaited home debut this weekend in a men's and women's soccer doubleheader, taking to the pitch for the earlier contest against Farmingdale at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
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