Mount Ida looked to start quickly, as sophomore Cody Seel (Petersburg, N.Y.) snuck through on a breakaway just 67 seconds into the game, but Emmanuel senior goalkeeper James Withers (East Taunton, Mass.) charged off his line and made a kicksave to keep the Mustangs off the board.
The teams traded chances from the opening minutes to the 40th minute, until Mount Ida finally broke through off of a corner kick. Sophomore Rob McClafferty (Abington, Mass.), fresh into the game on a corner kick, headed the ball past Withers off of service from junior JT Yager (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) for his second goal of the season.
Saints senior captain David Field (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) nearly tied the scored less than three minutes later, but Mount Ida sophomore keeper William Planey (Dallas, Texas) made a stop to send the visitors to halftime with the lead.
Coming out of the break, the Mustangs wasted little time before doubling their lead in the 50th minute. Following an Emmanuel foul, freshman Alexi Flores (Central Falls, R.I.) sent a ball towards junior Shawn Bernardo (Peabody, Mass.), and Bernardo was able to beat Withers to extend the Mount Ida lead to 2-0. The goal was the second of the year for Bernardo, while Flores earned his third assist.
The Saints pushed the pace in the final 40 minutes of play, winning possession for the majority of the second half and outshooting the Mustangs 14-5 after Bernardo's goal.
Emmanuel, however, could not find its way onto the scoreboard until the 81st minute, when junior Colin O'Donnell (Killingworth, Conn.) was taken down in the box, earning a penalty kick.
Field toed the mark, stepped up, and drove the ball into the right side of the net to cut the Mustangs lead in half.
Less than three minutes later, Mount Ida freshman Jordain Williams (Colchester, Vt.) played a long free kick into the box where Brenes volleyed the ball in the opposite direction past Withers for what would be the game-winning strike.
Emmanuel would not be put to bed so easily, however, and O'Donnell deflected a Field cross into the back of the goal with 57 seconds left on the clock for his fifth goal of the season.
The Saints stole posession off the ensuing restart, but were unable to put a ball on goal and the Mustangs hung on for the 3-2 victory.
Planey played the first 54 minutes before giving way to fellow sophomore Riley Ford (Guilderland, N.Y.). The two keepers combined for four saves in the 90 minute effort, with Planey earning the victory and improving to 2-0 on the year.
On the other side, Withers made four saves, but saw his overall record drop to 5-7.
The Saints outshot the Mustangs 19-15, including a 14-7 edge in the second half. Emmanuel also earned seven corner kicks to Mount Ida's three, but both teams scored off of a corner opportunity in the game.
The Mustangs will host Norwich on Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 pm at Alumni Field.
The Saints will travel to Nashua, N.H. for a battle with Rivier at 8:00 p.m. on the same day.