Junior Joey Scanlon scored his third goal of the postseason and senior goalkeeper Andrew Loyd turned in a memorable performance as the Misericordia men's soccer team won its second straight Freedom Conference championship, 1-0 over host Manhattanville.

Loyd was chosen as the MVP of the Freedom championships for the second consecutive season after making 11 saves, including a string of outstanding second half stops to preserve the win.

In the 14th minute, Cody Harman's shot was handled by a Manhattanville defender inside the box. Scanlon blasted his penalty shot off Valiant keeper Jason Torres' hand and into the net, giving the Cougars an early lead that they never relinquished.

Manhattanville threw numbers forward late in the game, but Loyd was there every time. Early in the second half, he made three great stops in a minute, denying a chance off a corner kick, then leaping to tip Keston George's long-range shot over the bar and finally making another save on the ensuing corner.

MU had a great chance to put the game away, but Torres saved Kevan Nagle's breakaway, with Andy Bush's rebound being cleared off the line by a defender.

From there on out it was all Loyd, who made two more breakaway saves in the dying minutes despite playing with a huge shiner on his head sustained during an earlier collision.

The Cougars had come out of the gates pressing, attempting to keep the possession-oriented Valiants, a fantastic passing team, out of their comfort zone. They were successful, especially early in the match, and generated several great first-half chances.

MU kept pushing forward after the penalty kick and nearly scored again when Scanlon flicked a header to Tim Bullis, but the junior's near post shot was saved by Torres.

Loyd made his first nice save half an hour in, kicking away a shot after a corner kick had been deflected to the feet of Valiant defender Emil Sjoberg.

Misericordia had another great chance with nine minutes remaining in the first period, when Matt Scott's header saved at the back post from two yards out, after an MU long throw-in.

The Cougars improve to 12-4-3 on the season and will compete in the NCAA tournament for the second straight year. Pairings will be announced on Monday.

The Final Whistle:

Post-Match Celebrations:

Awards Ceremony: