North Branch, NJ-- The RVCC men's soccer team defeated Manor College by a final score of 2-1 in their season opener Tuesday. The first half finished in a 0-0 tie. In the second period, sophomore wing Chukwuemeka Okoye beat the Manor defender up the right side and was able to punch it in from close to give the Lions the 1-0 lead. Four minutes later, Manor got control of a ball rolling around in the box and scored to tie it all at 1-1. Freshman forward Christian Barrera-Lopez got control of a rebound and found the back of the net in the 79th minute to break the tie. The Lions stopped the Manor offensive attacks in the final 16 minutes to seal the victory.
Sophomore goalkeeper Alex Meny played well in net as he finished with eight saves. In the 36th minute, he had a huge save as he got a hand on a shot coming from inside of the box and deflected it over the net. The Lions offense finished with 20 shots and 13 shots on goal, and Manor totaled 14 shots and 9 being on goal.
With the win the Lions are 1-0 on the 2017 campaign, and next up is a home game on Saturday, September 9th against Northampton Community College at 2pm.
