Box Score
Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Manhattan sophomore Troy Carrington (Verona, N.J. / Syracuse) broke a scoreless tie with a goal in the 86th minute before Fairfield nearly responded with a header that went just wide with one second remaining, as Manhattan posted a thrilling 1-0 victory at Gaelic Park on Wednesday night.
With the win, the Jaspers improve to 1-5-1, and 1-1-0 and in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). The Stags fall to 1-3-4, including an 0-1-0 mark in the league.
Carrington's strike came after streaking up the left side before burying the ball in the lower right corner for his first goal of the year. Junior midfielder Timmy O'Driscoll (Yorktown Heights, N.Y. / Lakeland) pressured the ball, causing Fairfield to commit the turnover. Junior midfielder Tarek Beckles (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Monroe) intercepted the pass and put Carrington through along the left side. Exhibiting great poise, Carrington danced around two Stags' defenders and calmly tucked the ball inside the far post to put Manhattan on top with just over four minutes to play.
In the closing seconds, the Stags crossed a long, searching ball into the box that junior defender Ben Whitcomb headed two feet wide left.
After going the first 65 minutes without a shot, Manhattan seemed to be energized by a Fairfield miscue that led to a pair of shots while giving the Jaspers the injection of confidence they needed.
For the match, Fairfield owned a 14-6 advantage in shots, including 4-3 on goal. Manhattan, meanwhile, held a narrow advantage in corner kicks (4-3).
Freshman goalkeeper R.J. Noll (Yelm, Wash. / Yelm) earned his first collegiate victory with four saves between the pipes.
The Jaspers will look to make it two in a row on Wednesday, Oct. 7, when they take on MAAC opponent, Saint Peter's, in a 3 p.m. tilt.
