The Fairleigh Dickinson University men's soccer team shut out visiting Sacred Heart, 3-0, Saturday, Oct. 6 at University Stadium in Teaneck, NJ. Freshman forward Samson Malijani (Lusaka, Zambia, /La Sapienza) (Lusaka, Zambia/Kafue) set the tone offensively, collecting his first collegiate hat trick after scoring two goals in the first stanza.
Malijani tallied the game-winning strike ? his third-consecutive in as many Northeast Conference games ? in the 13th minute, following a save by Pioneers (5-5-1, 1-2-0 NEC) goalkeeper Matthew Jones (Stroke-on-Trent, England/Sandon) on a blast by freshman midfielder Alejandro Bedyoya (Weston, FL/St. Thomas Aquinas).
In the 38th minute FDU (6-3-3, 3-0-0 NEC) capitalized on a free kick from the right sideline. Sophomore forward Fabrizzio Trezza (Rome, Italy/La Sapienza) sent a cross into the box and Malijani flicked the pass with his head into the upper left hand corner of the goal.
The Knights' leading goal-scorer found the net on a third occasion following a transition breakout, en route to notching his sixth goal on the season. Trezza cleared the ball to Bedoya who beat his mark down the right side of the field, then sent a ball to the top of the box. Malijani slipped past his defender, corralled the pass and beat a drawn-out Jones to the right side before sliding the ball into the lower left corner.
“There were a lot of bright spots today, starting with Samson's hat-trick,” Head Coach Seth Roland said. “We also put forth a solid team effort defensively.”
Senior goalkeeper Tomer Chencinski (Toronto, Canada, /Chapel School) (Toronto, Canada/Robert Morris) picked up the shutout victory, making three saves.
The Knights travel to Quinnipiac at 3:00 p.m., Friday, Oct. 13.
