LEXINGTON, Va. – The VMI men's soccer team held the score close for much of the game, but was outlasted Friday by Manhattan College, 5-1 in non-conference play from Patchin Field.

The start of the contest was delayed an hour and a half due to lightning strikes in the area. Once the game was underway, the Jaspers struck at the 13:31 mark of the first half, on a tally from Brandon Joseph-Buadi. Adrien Awana followed with a goal 11 minutes later and Manhattan held a 2-0 lead at intermission.

Manhattan pushed the advantage to 3-0 on a score from Oswald Annang just after the break. VMI freshman Marco Reyes answered with a header into the bottom right corner on a cross from fellow freshman Ryan Shields to cut the lead to two. Joseph-Buadi added two insurance goals late to complete a hat trick.

Broden Schull made eight saves for the Keydets. Marcellin Gohier stopped three shots for Manhattan (4-1), ranked No. 8 in the NCAA East Region this week. The Jaspers held edges of 32-6 in shots and 7-1 in corner kicks.

VMI (0-4) returns to play Sunday, hosting Niagara University at 1 p.m.