Riverdale, N.Y. - Behind two goals from freshman Jakeem Johnson (Upper Montclair, N.J.), the Long Island University(m) men's soccer team defeated Manhattan, 3-1, on Friday night in Riverdale, N.Y. The Blackbirds (3-3) held off a charge from the Jaspers in the second half to claim their second consecutive non-conference victory.

After a scoreless first half, Long Island grabbed the lead 46 seconds into the second period After sophomore Rommel Forde (Barbados) sent a throw in into the six-yard box. From there, freshman Elliot Kane (Tulsa, Okla.) opportunistically found the ball and buried it to give LIU a 1-0 advantage. In the 59th minute, Johnson took a flick from sophomore Steve Jakubowski (West Deptford, N.J.) down the right side of the field, cut inside, and blasted a shot past the Manhattan defense to put LIU ahead 2-0.

Manhattan countered in the 65th minute when James Gannon put the Jaspers on the board and cut the Blackbird lead to 2-1. That would be the only goal freshman goalkeeper John Connolly (Annapolis, Md.) gave up in the contest. In his first collegiate action, Connolly stopped five opposing shots to record the win.

Johnson would give Long Island an insurance goal at the 88:57 mark after he broke free from the Jasper defense to score his team-leading fifth goal and fourth in the last two games. Junior Evan Fernandez (Avenel, N.J.) fed Johnson the ball to record his first career assist.

The Blackbirds were efficient with their shots on goal, scoring on three of the four attempts. Manhattan put six on net but Connolly was able to keep the Blackbirds ahead. Sophomore Dan Sauerhoff (Springfield, N.J.) put a shot on goal in the 40th minute from 20 yards out but was snuffed out by Manhattan goalkeeper Joseph Lorenz.

Long Island returns to action when it travels to Ithaca, N.Y. to battle Cornell on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.