Sophomore Keston George (Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago) continues to provide the offensive spark for the Manhattanville Valiants, as George’s lone goal was the key to the 1-0 victory over the Drew Rangers on the first night of the 2009 Valiant Classic on Friday night.
The first chance of the contest came in the 4th minute as the Rangers had a corner kick taken by Adrian Kawuba. The Valiants defensive unit was up to the task and cleared the ball away from traffic in front of the net.
Manhattanville had the same opportunity in the 8th minute as sophomore Adam Kent (London, England) took the kick that found a way through the crowd, but was cleared by the Rangers' defense.
The first shot on goal of the evening was taken by Ranger defenseman Marc Chiarello in the 32nd minute, which was saved by junior goalie Jason Torres (Harrison, N.Y.).
A minute later Drew forward Chris Gibaldi’s shot from 20 yards away was saved by Torres as he made a diving save to the left of the net.
The Valiants got on the board in the 57th minute when George scored his fourth goal of the season on a free kick from 25 yards away that split the defense and beat Ranger goalie David Brigandi.
Freshman Moshee Kelyana (Scarborough, Ontario) almost made it 2-0 Manhattanville less than 10 minutes later, but his blast from 15 yards away rang off the crossbar and out.
Drew defenseman Curtis Fonarotto gave the best effort for the Rangers in the 73rd minute as he shot from within the six-yard box was saved by Torres, who posted his second shutout of the season.
Manhattanville nearly put the icing on the cake again in the 76th minute. Junior forward Kenneil Haye (Queens, N.Y.) came in thru the defense and attempted a near perfect shot that was pushed away by Brigandi.
Torres finished the game with three saves, while Brigandi also made three saves in the losing effort. The Rangers beat the Valiants on corner kicks 3-2, while Manhattanville outshot the Rangers 8-6.
Up next for the Valiants and Rangers will be day two of the 2009 Valiant Classic as Drew takes on Rensselaer at 5 pm tomorrow and Manhattanville takes on NYU at 7 pm.