Box Score Salisbury, Md. – The Manhattanville men's soccer team began their season on Friday afternoon against Salisbury University at the Elmer Lord Soccer Classic in Salisbury, Md., falling by a 1-0 (2OT) score.

This was a tight match between two very strong defensive sides. The Sea Gulls were the dominant side in the first half controlling the tempo with fast-paced attacks and a lot of stretch passing to open up holes in the Valiant defense. There were many scoring chances for the Gulls, including a shot by sophomore Michael Feeney from about 20 yards out that skimmed along the turf before finally ringing off the outside of the post.

Manhattanville's defense continued to stymie the Sea Gulls throughout both the first and second half, while continuing to add pressure off the counter-attack. Junior Yeyson Caballeros (Los Angeles, Calif./Fairfax) and freshman Omar Parra (Gulfport, Miss./Gulfport) were able to record two shots a piece during the match as they looked to sneak a ball past Salisbury sophomore goalkeeper Drew Staedeli, who played solid in net for the Sea Gulls.

The Salisbury squad outshot Manhattanville, 14-8, in the match but was continuously turned away by the great goalkeeping of sophomore Steve Singson (Deer Park, N.Y./St. Anthony's), who was definitely the highlight of the afternoon for the Valiants. The solid defense and goalkeeping of the Valiants were able to see them into a two-period sudden death overtime between the squads.

It was back and forth in overtime and just when it seemed a draw was in the cards, Salisbury defender Elliot Crompton headed Matt Green's corner kick into the upper left corner of the net. The mark was at 108:40.

Although a tough defeat, there is certainly much to be taken away from this Valiant squad, which features so many new pieces coming together. Manhattanville will look to rebound against St. Mary's (Md.) tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 p.m.