Friday, November 14 at 1:30 p.m.
How They Got Here:
The Knights entered the final week of the regular season with a chance to take the number one seed. FDU had to defeat St. Francis NY and Long Island at home and Monmouth had to lose its contest versus Central Connecticut.
The Knights went out and took care of business, defeating the Terriers and Blackbirds in a pair of 2-1 victories. Monmouth went into double-overtime with the Blue Devils, taking a 2-1 victory to capture the first spot in the conference.
Against Quinnipiac: The Knights defeated the Bobcats earlier in the season, registering a 2-0 win on Oct. 17. Samson Malijani (Lusaka, Zambia, /La Sapienza) gave the Knights the lead in the first half on a penalty kick and Chris Faraone (Jamesburg, NJ/Union Catholic Regional) added an insurance goal in the second half off of a feed from Malijani.
The Knights are 10-2-0 all-time against the Bobcats. Quinnipiac's last win came in the form of a 2-0 shutout in 2007.
Knights in the Tourney: FDU will compete in the NEC playoffs for the 10th time in 12 years, missing the tournament last year and in 2005. The Knights, who are ranked third in the NSCAA North Atlantic region, have won a conference-high five NEC titles, including four straight from 2001-04.
The FDU Leaders: Junior forward Samson Malijani (Lusaka, Zambia, /La Sapienza) leads the Knights with 32 points and 14 goals. Christian Vasconez (Quito, Ecuador/Dickinson) has recorded a team-high five assists. Paul King (New Castle, England/Monkseaton) is second on the team with 17 points and eight goals.
In the Nation: Samson Malijani (Lusaka, Zambia, /La Sapienza) ranks ninth in the nation (as of 11/9) in points per game with 1.88. Malijani ranks seventh in goals per game (0.82).
Home Sweet Home: The Knights' final regular season game against Long Island gave them a 6-1-1 record at University Stadium for the season.
He's Honored: Paul King (New Castle, England/Monkseaton) claimed his league-leading fourth Brine/Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week honor on Nov. 10.
King earned the honor after scoring twice in a 2-1 win over Long Island on Sunday that capped a 2-0 week and clinched the second seed in the NEC for the Knights. King, who won three of the first four weekly rookie awards to begin his career, had been held without a goal in nine straight matches, but came through with a clutch performance against the Blackbirds. He knotted the game at 1-1 after working a give-and-go with Sergio Munoz (Linden, NJ/Linden) in the 31st minute. In the 72nd minute, Samson Malijani (Lusaka, Zambia, /La Sapienza)
faked a shot and hit King with a pass deep in the box for a one-touch goal. For King, it was his eighth goal of the year and second game-winner.
A native of New Castle, England, he is currently sixth in the NEC in goals and ninth in points (19). Among league freshman, he ranks second in both statistical categories.
Big Turnaround: Last season, the Knights finished with a 4-10-3 overall record, including a 2-5-2 mark in Northeast Conference play. In 2008, FDU more than doubled the win total from 2007, entering into the tournament with an 11-5-2 overall record and 6-1-1 mark in league action.
Collecting Awards: Samson Malijani (Lusaka, Zambia, /La Sapienza) collecting a string of accolades the week of Oct. 27. Malijani earned Co-Offensive ECAC Player of the Week honors as well as being named to the Soccer America Team of the Week.
The junior forward was recognized after scoring four goals during the week, leading the Knights to a first place spot in the Northeast Conference. Malijani registered a hat trick in a 3-2 win over Saint Francis (PA) and scored the lone goal in a 1-0 conquest of Robert Morris.
Earlier in the week, Malijani was named as the College Soccer News National Player of the Week and BigAppleSoccer.com Player of the Week, along with earning his second-straight Brine/NEC Player of the Week Accolade.
Malijani's stats propelled him to the top of the NCAA men's soccer leaderboard in goals per game (according to Oct. 27 national release) as he led the nation with 2.23 points per game and was second in the NEC with 13 goals and 29 points. He tallied a league-best eight goals and 17 points in just five NEC contests. He scored a goal in ten straight matches (13 total in the ten outings), including the team's previous eight markers and ten of the last 11 to help push the Knights into first place in the conference.
Streaking Offense: Samson Malijani (Lusaka, Zambia, /La Sapienza) scored a goal in ten straight matches (13 total in the ten outings). His goal scoring streak was tied for the ninth longest in NCAA Division I history - matching Tulsa's Jimmy Dowell (1994) - and is the longest since then-Virginia star Alecko Eskandarian found the back of the netting in 11 straight games during the 2002 season. The record is held by Akron's Pete Milich, who scored in 16 straight matches stretching over the 1961 and 1962 seasons.
Program High: The 11 wins the Knights have
claimed this season are the most for the program since posting a 12-5-1 mark in 2005.
Three-Pronged Attack: Junior Majdi Zaineh (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) has posted an 8-3-1 record between the posts for the Knights this year, recording three shutouts. Zaineh posted a 1.20 goals against average and .808 save percentage.
In his first season at FDU, junior Carl Spence (St. Catherine, Jamaica/Meadowbrook) started two games, going 1-0-1 with a 0.45 goals against average and .909 save percentage and one shutout.
Freshman Juho Illi (Nastola, Finland/) played in five matches, starting four. He had a 2-2-0 record, with one shutout a 2.17 GAA and a .706 save percentage.
Passing the Torch: Pino Tubito started the ball rolling when he earned Rookie of the Year in 2004. Alejandro Bedoya became the next FDU freshman to hit the big stage when he earned First Team All-Conference honors in 2005. Samson Malijani (Lusaka, Zambia, /La Sapienza) joins his teammates on the elite squad of impressive rookies as he takes home Rookie of the Year honors and a spot on the Second Team in 2006. Paul King (New Castle, England/Monkseaton), who earned four Brine/NEC Rookie of the Week honors during the season, has a shot to become the next FDU rookie to be honored.
Rookie Sensation: Among league freshman, Paul King (New Castle, England/Monkseaton) is second in goals (8) and points (19).
In the Record Books: As a junior, Samson Malijani (Lusaka, Zambia, /La Sapienza) has already made his way into the career record books. He currently stands 10th all-time with 31 goals. He has also amassed 72 points, just a point away from cracking the top-10 career point leaders.
Disproving the Predictions: The Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer team was picked to finish eighth in the Northeast Conference by a poll of league head coaches, released by the conference on August 14. The Knights finished the 2008 in second.
Fairleigh Dickinson finished 2007 with a 4-10-3 record overall, including a 2-5-2 mark in league play. The Knights were looking to return to prominence following an off-year that saw the Knights drop five one-goal games in league play and miss out on the NEC Tournament for just the second time since 1997.
The franchise player for 12th-year head coach Seth Roland was explosive junior forward Samson Malijani (Lusaka, Zambia, /La Sapienza) (Lusaka, Zambia/La Sapienza). A former NEC Rookie of the Year and a First Team All-Conference selection in 2007, Malijani led the Knights and ranked third in the league with 10 goals and 22 points in 2007. In 2008, he topped that, registering 32 pints and 14 goals. At one point, he led the nation in goals per game.
Junior forward Fernando Huthmacher (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Da Lagoa) continued to see opportunities playing alongside Malijani this season. Huthmacher added two goals and foru assists for eight points on the season. The Knights also have
senior captain Marcos Morales (St. Charles, IL/St. Charles) (St. Charles, IL/St. Charles) anchoring the defense.
Monmouth, winner of three-straight NEC regular season titles, was chosen as the preseason favorite to claim the 2008 Northeast Conference men's soccer championship, receiving five first place votes to edge out defending NEC champion Central Connecticut State, which was picked second and earned three first place nods. Sacred Heart took the third spot in the poll, followed by Quinnipiac in fourth and Saint Francis (PA) in fifth. Both the Bobcats and Red Flash each earned a lone first place vote. Robert Morris was tabbed sixth, followed by Long Island in seventh and Fairleigh Dickinson in eighth. St. Francis (NY) and Mount St. Mary's round out the poll. The NEC will be looking to build upon a 2007 campaign that culminated with Central Connecticut State reaching the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
The Tournament: The 2008 NEC Men's Soccer Tournament takes place at the home of high seed Monmouth in West Long Branch, NJ on November 14 & 16. The top four teams in the regular season- Monmouth, Fairleigh Dickinson, Quinnipiac and Mount St. Mary's- advance to the postseason event. The winner of the NEC Tournament will receive the league's automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Soccer Tournament.
Head Coach Seth Roland: Seth Roland took over the Fairleigh Dickinson University men's soccer program in 1997 with goals of rebuilding it into a Northeast Conference power, a force in the region and bringing it back into the national spotlight.
In 11 years, Roland has guided the program to nine NEC Tournament appearances. Under his tutelage, the Knights clinched four-straight NEC tournament championships (2001-04) and reached the prestigious NCAA Elite Eight (2001). He has guided the Knights to three NCAA Tournament appearances, four NEC regular season titles and another NCAA play-in appearance. All totaled with Roland at the helm, the Knights are 65-22-13 in NEC play.
Ranking as high as No. 15 in the nation in 2006, FDU fell in only one conference game, posting an NEC record of 6-1-2. The Knights posted a 12-5-1 overall record under Roland in 2005, notching a 10-win season for the seventh straight year. FDU was ranked as high as seventh nationally, getting off to the best start since 1975, going undefeated in its first eight games.
Roland led the Knights to their sixth-straight 10-win season in 2004, finishing 10-8-1 overall and advancing to the NEC Championship game for the fifth consecutive year after capturing a fourth NEC regular season crown in five years. They went on to finish the season with a No. 9 ranking in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
In 2003, the Knights became the first team in league history to win four straight Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament titles and captured a third NEC regular season crown in four years. They posted a 14-5-1 record and made a third
straight trip to the NCAA Tournament to end up ranked No. 23 in the final NSCAA/adidas national poll and No. 1 in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
In 2002, Roland's Knights made the program's second straight NCAA Tournament appearance after winning their third straight NEC Tournament with a pair of shootout wins. They were selected to host the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1984 and drew a crowd of nearly 500 fans. The Knights didn't disappoint as they won another thrilling shootout over the Holy Cross Crusaders to advance to the second round against third ranked St. John's. They eventually fell to the Red Storm, but not before taking them into double-overtime of a 2-1 loss and finishing the year at 11-5-7.
Roland guided the Knights to their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1989 in the fall of 2001. They made the most of that opportunity with three consecutive upsets of nationally recognized programs to advance to the Elite Eight. They took eventual national champion North Carolina into triple overtime before falling 3-2, but earned the college soccer world's respect as a program that would be a force for years to come. The Knights finished 17-7-0 overall and were rewarded with a number 11 ranking in the season's final national poll. Roland was named Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year after becoming only the second coach in NCAA soccer history to lead teams to the NCAA tournament at the Division I, II, and III levels. He is the first-ever to have achieved that with three different institutions and first to have all three teams ranked among the top 15 in the final national poll.
During his first season in 1997, the Knights started six freshmen, three sophomores, one junior and one senior. The youthful squad went on to post a 10-8-2 mark overall and finished the conference schedule second with a 4-1-1 record and a berth in the conference tournament. After a 1-0 win against Monmouth in the semifinals, the Knights fell 1-0 to LIU in the NEC Championship game.
His second season brought in a talented mix of players that competed in one of the school's toughest soccer schedules to date, playing six teams ranked in the nation's top-25 and losing by just one goal in four contests. While competing at this level, the Knights succeeded in the NEC, finishing second with a 6-2-1 record. A 120-minute, two-overtime affair against Central Connecticut State in the NEC semifinal knocked Fairleigh Dickinson from the tournament, 2-1, and ended the Knights' season with a 7-11-2 overall mark.
The program remained on track to reach its goals in 1999 as Roland continued to expand recruiting on the international frontier. The roster included players from Lithuania, Israel, Canada, Colombia, Aruba and Spain. Roland led that team to a 10-5-4 record, his second 10-win season in three years, and a 7-1-2 mark in NEC play. After a 10-year absence from the regional rankings, the 1999 squad finished the season ranked fourth in the Mid-Atlantic region.
The 2000 season saw Roland and the
Knights regionally ranked every week of the season. They posted a 13-8-1 overall mark, also the program's highest win total since 1989, and took the NEC title with an 8-2-0 record. Roland was rewarded by being voted NEC Coach of the Year by his peers.
After 11 years at Fairleigh Dickinson and 21 years overall as a head coach, Roland's career coaching record now stands at 237-141-38, a .615 winning percentage.
Roland began his full-time head coaching career when, at age 24, he was appointed to the p osition at Christopher Newport University. He led the Captains from 1982-87, taking CNU to its first Division III playoff appearance during the 1986 season while finishing ranked 10th in the nation. In his five years at Christopher Newport, Roland accumulated a 53-37-5 record.
From 1987-92, Roland was the head coach at the University of Bridgeport. He led the Purple Knights to three Division II playoff bids, including the 1990 quarterfinals and top-10 rankings in 1988, 1990 and 1991. Roland completed his five years at Bridgeport with a mark of 67-27-7.
In 1992 Roland became the top assistant to Al Albert at the College of William and Mary. During his tenure, he was part of the most successful era in the school's long soccer history. During the five years he was in Williamsburg, Va., the Tribe won two Colonial Athletic Association Tournament Championships, four regular season titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times with two trips to the Sweet 16 and a 1996 trip to the round of eight. In his last three seasons at William & Mary, the Tribe was the only school in the nation to win 18 or more games in those three years, and in his final year the team finished 20-3-1 and ranked fourth in the country.
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Roland was a three-year starter in the midfield. He was honored by being selected to play in four Maccabiah Games for the United States ? winning silver in 1981 ? and he coached the U.S. team in 1993 and 1997 ? leading the squad to a bronze medal in the summer of 1993.
