Old Westbury, NY – Scott Vieira’s penalty kick in the 72nd minute of play broke open a 2-2 tie and served as the game-winning shot, as Manhattanville topped Old Westbury 4-2 in Skyline Conference action this afternoon at Panther Park.
The Valiants were the first to get on the board, as Bernard Keating scored the game’s first goal at the 13:40 mark of the first half. Vieira threaded the ball through two Old Westbury defenders to Keating, who continued on to beat the Panthers’ keeper, Brian Hicks.
The Panthers responded quickly, tying the match at one just three minutes and 48 seconds later. Ragi Burton’s cross from the right side of the field was tipped by Don Santoro to Shawn Holland, who was waiting in front of the goal mouth. Holland’s shot from three yards out sailed into the back of the net behind Gerard Tellier in the goal for Manhattanville.
The Valiants would take a 2-1 lead 28 seconds into the second half, as Chris Myrtos scored after Pietro Pasqualino’s shot was deflected by Hicks back into action. The Panthers would once again respond within minutes, this time tying the game at two just over a minute and a half later.
Holland once again found the back of the net, this time scoring on a chip shot from 25-yards out. Santoro was once again in the mix, earning his second assist of the game on the play.
The teams battled for the next 25 minutes with no score changes, until Vieira was awarded the penalty kick after a foul inside the six-yard box. The Panthers were unable to answer the goal, and fell behind further as Justin Brooks-Ward connected on a shot from six yards out seven minutes later, making the final score 4-2.
Hicks finished with six saves for Old Westbury.
The Panthers are back in action on Wednesday, September 28 when they host City Tech. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 pm.