(Newburgh) – The Mount Saint Mary College men’s soccer team defeated Manhattanville for the first time since 2002 with a 2-1 win on Monday afternoon. With only one game remaining, the Blue Knights are guaranteed their first .500 season in 5 years.
Ian Peo (Levittown, NY) scored what would wind up as the game-winner for Mount Saint Mary. With the ball deep in their defensive zone, a Manhattanville defender tried to clear the ball to midfield but was blocked by Brandon Abreu (Staten Island, NY). The ball caromed off of Abreu’s leg into the middle of the box. Peo seized the chance without hesitation, heading the ball before it hit the ground and beating the keeper to the far post.
On Senior Day at Kaplan Field, Johnny Guerrero (Maspeth, NY) opened the scoring for the Blue Knights with a goal in the 56th minute. Jon Gasiewski (New Milford, CT) made a streaking run down the left side and crossed the ball to the middle of the field. Tomasz Michalak (Newington, CT) got the first touch on the ball and Guerrero finished the play with the keeper out of position.
The last twenty minutes of the game were played at a frenetic pace, with the Valiants controlling most of the play. With the intensity level on the rise, a near brawl occurred in the Manhattanville end in the 77th minute. Several yellow cards were issued but the intense style of play did not diminish.
The Valiants finally broke thorugh in the 82nd minute when Keith Simons (Saratoga Springs, NY) scored after a scramble in the box. The back four for Mount Saint Mary held firm during the final eight minutes to give the Blue Knights the 2-1 win. B.J. Masopust (Wallkill, NY), Billy Szabo (Beacon, NY), and Francis Amarteifio (Accra, Ghana) all played excellently on defense despite being out of position due to the absence of central defender Tom Puccio (Centereach, NY).
Kyle Reiss (Oxford, NY) was spectacular in net for the Mount. He finished the day with seventeen saves, including four in the last nine minutes. He stopped a free kick from just outside the box with only seconds remaining to preserve the win.
The Blue Knights improved to 9-8-1 and 3-4-1 within the Skyline Conference. Manhattanville drops to 5-10-2 and 1-7-1 in Skyline play. Next up for Mount Saint Mary is the season finale against the College of Mount Saint Vincent. The game will be played on Wednesday, November 1 at 2:00 at Westchester Community College.
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