NEC Championship Recap

Fairleigh Dickinson Wins Third Straight NEC Men's Soccer Championship
Knights Triumph For Second Straight Game In Penalty Kick Shootout

Baltimore, MD -- Fairleigh Dickinson University captured its third consecutive Northeast Conference men's soccer title as the third-seeded Knights battled top-seeded Long Island University to a 0-0 double-overtime draw, but prevailed, 4-3 in penalty kicks.

FDU (10-4-7) did not allow a goal in the tournament, advancing by penalty kicks after 0-0 deadlocks in both games, and junior goalkeeper Andrew Nucifora (Monroe, CT) was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. The Knights, who advanced all the way to last year’s NCAA quarterfinals, will learn who they will play in the NCAA Tournament when selections are announced on Monday.

LIU (11-6-3) controlled the ball for much of the 110 minutes, but could not break through the vaunted Knight defense. Blackbird midfielder David Schofield (Preston, England) managed seven shots, including a dangerous direct kick late in the first half and a sliding attempt in the 67th minute, but both were repelled by Nucifora. LIU outshot FDU, 16-6, including a 9-2 margin in the second half, but Nucifora made eight saves to help send the game to penalty kicks. After three rounds of PK’s, the teams were knotted at 2-2, but Nucifora stopped David Ledet’s (Houma, LA) attempt to open the fourth round.

After FDU’s Orce Kozeski (Garfield, NJ) and LIU’s Josh Couvillion (New Orleans, LA) were successful, Knight freshman midfielder Nadav Gottesman (Haifa, Israel) clinched it with a successful conversion into the right side of the net.

LIU netminder Ryszard Gorski (Aberdeenshire, Scotland) made three saves for the Blackbirds. FDU held junior striker Oskar Tilly, who scored all three goals in Friday’s 3-0 semifinal win over Robert Morris, to no shots in the game.

The Knights made it two straight title game victories over LIU, having advanced, 2-1, in the fourth overtime period last season.


NEC Semifinal Recaps

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

Baltimore, MD -- The 2002 Northeast Conference finals will be a rematch of last year’s title game, as both #1 seed LIU and #3 seed FDU advanced to Sunday’s finale at UMBC Soccer Stadium. The top-seeded Blackbirds (11-5-3) cruised to a comfortable3-0 win over #4 Robert Morris (9-9-2), while the two-time defending champion Knights (9-4-7) advanced via penalty kicks, 3-2, after playing to a 0-0 tie with #2 UMBC (11-7-2).

In the opener, junior forward Oskar Tilly scored all three goals as LIU defeated Robert Morris for the second straight year in the semi-finals. Tilly opened the scoring at 14:26, converting a penalty kick after teammate David Schofield was taken down the box by Colonial Joe DiBuono. The Fist Team All NEC forward struck again at 36:49, after stealing a pass in RMU territory. He dished to Jermaine Samuels, and knocked in Samuels’ return pass from eight yards away.  With the Colonials pressing late in the game, Tilly won a ball deep in Robert Morris territory and chipped a nine-yarder into the far right corner of the net.

LIU outshot RMU, 16-10, and Blackbird freshman netminder Ryszard Gorksi made three saves to record the shutout

In the nightcap, UMBC and FDU battled for 110 minutes with neither team being able to dent the net. UMBC had the better of the scoring opportunities, but a Marcus Gross redirect off a corner kick hit the crossbar late in the first half, and Derek McElligott’s one-on-one chance was thwarted in the first 25 seconds of the second half by FDU netminder Andrew Nucifora. FDU’s best chance came with just over three minutes to play, as Dirceu Hurtado’s shot of a cross hit the side of the net.

In penalty kicks, Nucifora got the visitors off to a good start when he made a diving save of McElligott’s first attempt. FDU went up 3-2 on conversions by Hurtado, Orce Kozeski, and Mathieu Savaria and prevaield when Alex Wilmot’s attempt for UMBC was wide left.

The Knights are now 6-0-2 vs. UMBC since the Retrievers joined the NEC and are the only team with a winning record vs. the Retrievers.

Last season, FDU defeated LIU, 2-1, in the fourth overtime period to win the league title. The Knights would advance to the NCAA quarter-finals before falling to eventual champion North Carolina, in three overtime periods.