RIVERDALE, NY – On a soggy Wednesday afternoon, the Maritime College men's soccer team had its final tune-up for the 2026 regular season with an exhibition contest against Manhattan at Gaelic Park. Despite being outshot 15-3 by their Division I opponent, the Privateers kept it tight, falling to the Jaspers (1-2-0) by a 3-0 margin.
It rained steadily throughout the contest, becoming harder as the game wore on. The weather was no deterrent, however, as Maritime played even with Manhattan for the first 30 minutes. The Jaspers nearly scored in the 24
th minute when Ziv Dahan snuck behind Privateers goalkeeper
Aiden Slovensky (Manorville, NY) and put a shot towards the open net.
Jack Young (Floral Park, NY) played it off the goal line, though, to preserve the 0-0 scoreline.
Manhattan broke through on a tally by Cristiano Marsilii in the 33
rd minute, and the Jaspers took that 1-0 lead into halftime. The Maritime defense continued to frustrate Manhattan in the first 30 minutes of the second half until Dahan doubled the Jaspers' advantage in the 74
th minute. Manhattan added another goal from Tycho van Haaren just over three minutes later to make the final score 3-0.
This was the Privateers' first time facing a Division I foe since Sept. 2, 2023, when they suffered a 2-0 loss to VMI. Slovensky tallied three saves, while Maritime's defense also stopped a pair of would-be goals. For Manhattan, Marsilii found the back of the net twice and goalkeeper Gaspar Homar Bennasar (1-2-0) notched his first career clean sheet.
The Privateers officially begin the season on Sunday, when Nazareth (1-0-0) visits Reinhart Field for a 12 p.m. matchup. It will be Maritime's first-ever meeting against the Golden Flyers.
