NEC Championship Recap

Kozeski’s Penalty Kick Goal In Fourth Overtime Gives Fairleigh Dickinson Second Consecutive NEC Title
Knights advance to NCAA tournament by winning longest tournament game in conference history

Hamden, CT -- Orce Kozeski (Garfield, NJ) scored on a penalty kick with 8:01 remaining in the fourth overtime to lift the Fairleigh Dickinson men’s soccer team to a 2-1 win over Long Island in the Northeast Conference tournament final.

With the win, the Knights earned their second straight tournament title and NCAA berth. Fairleigh Dickinson becomes the first team since St. Francis (NY) in 1995-96 to repeat as tournament champions.

The game, which lasted 141:59, was also the longest in Northeast Conference championship history.

Kozeski opened the scoring at 27:14 of the first half, also on a penalty kick. However, Oskar Tilly (Karlstad, Sweden) answered just 2:07 later to even the game at 1-1.

After a scoreless second half, both teams had chances to net the winning goal in the extra sessions. However, when Aaron Paye (Brooklyn Center, Minn) was hauled down in the box, Kozeski buried the penalty kick to seal the victory for Fairleigh Dickinson.

Goalkeeper Vytautas Lenkutis (Vilnius, Lithuania) stopped seven shots in the victory. Eric Masters (Carmel, IN\) made three saves for Long Island.

FDU senior midfielder Brian Romero (Paterson, NJ) was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

NEC Semifinal Recap

Long Island, Fairleigh Dickinson Advance To NEC
Men's Soccer Final

Hamden, CT -- The Fairleigh Dickinson and Long Island men’s soccer teams emerged from the first day of the Northeast Conference tournament and moved on to Sunday’s final at Quinnipiac University.

The No. 4 seeded Blackbirds dominated the No. 1 seeded Colonials in a 3-2 victory. Trailing 1-0 at halftime, David Schofield (Preston, England) and Oskar Tilly (Karlstad, Sweden) each scored within a span of 4:30 to hand LIU the lead for good.

After Casey Madigan (Montvale, N.J.) padded the Blackbirds’ advantage to 3-1 with 4:19 remaining, Robert Morris closed to within one at 3-2 on a late goal from Jason DeFranco (Allison Park, Pa.).  LIU outshot Robert Morris, 25-12.

In the nightcap, Aaron Paye’s (Brooklyn Center, Minn.) tally with 9:19
remaining in the first half proved to be all of the offense that No. 2 Fairleigh Dickinson would need in a 1-0 win over No. 3 UMBC. The game was a defensive struggle that featured aggressive play on both sides, but the Knights pulled through and moved on to the championship game.

The final will be Sunday at 12:00 p.m. at Quinnipiac University’s Braves Field. The winner will earn the NEC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.