Three Fairleigh Dickinson University goals inside the initial 23 minutes of the Northeast Conference Championship match ? as well as a hat trick by NEC Tournament Most Valuable Player, junior forward Samson Malijani (Lusaka, Zambia, /La Sapienza) (Lusaka, Zambia) ? enabled the Knights (13-5-2) to earn a berth in the NCAA College Cup for the fifth time in the 12-year tenure of Head Coach Seth Roland.
The second seeded FDU men's soccer team defeated the No. 4 seed Mount St. Mary's University (9-10-1), Sunday, Nov. 16 on a neutral field on the campus of Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ. Despite extremely wind conditions, the Knights ripped off a season-high scoring output, en route to a 7-2 decision. In their sixth NEC title game appearance, the squad's seven goals marked the most allowed by the Mountaineers all season and Fairleigh Dickinson's top offensive effort since a 7-1 victory in 2001. The seven goals for FDU established an NEC Tournament record, eclipsing the previous record of six set by the Knights in a 6-3 win over Long Island in the 1989 conference title game. The combined total of nine goals matched the nine in the aforementioned contest as the most in NEC Tournament history. Five different players scored for FDU on the afternoon.
“What an incredible victory for FDU,” Roland said. “We certainly peaked at the right time, and it's great to bring the NEC Championship back to FDU. I'm so proud of this group of guys ? they have such a great mentality and they love to compete.
“We tip our caps to (Mount St. Mary's Coach) Rob Ryerson and the incredible job he did taking his team from last place to the championship game. With such a young team, they'll be a force in the NEC to years to come.”
Malijani scored four goals through a pair of postseason games this weekend ? more than the other three teams in the four-team playoff bracket combined. Three student-athletes joined the two-time All-NEC First Team selection, who entered the week ranked seventh in the nation with 1.88 points per game, on the All-NEC Tournament Team. Senior defender Marcos Morales (St. Charles, IL/St. Charles) (St. Charles, IL), junior midfielder Sergio Munoz (Linden, NJ/Linden) (Linden, NJ), and junior goalkeeper Majdi Zaineh (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) (Clifton, NJ) were also honored.
The championship trophy is the Fairleigh Dickinson's sixth ? the most in league history.
The Knights pressured early, with freshman forward Paul King (New Castle, England/Monkseaton) (New Castle, England) firing a shot over the cross bar 13 seconds after the opening tap. They took a 1-0 command in the sixth minute when junior defender Chris Faraone (Jamesburg, NJ/Union Catholic Regional) (Jamesburg, NJ) leapt to head a corner kick service courtesy of Malijani inside the right post.
A minute later, Zaineh sprawled to his right to void freshman forward Chris Wheeler's (Newcastle, Australia) attempt for the equalizer. Mount senior forward Vinnie Berry (Helensburgh, Scotland) sailed a shot over the crossbar, before he connected with an unmarked Wheeler in the 13th minute. The reigning NEC Rookie of the Year struck for the 11th time this fall, heading a ball into a wide open net.
In the 15th minute, the Mountaineers nearly took the lead, as Berry's far post effort skidded by an uncontested area of the goal. Four minutes later, junior midfielder Vin Reinecke (Toms River, NJ/Archbishop Williams) (Toms River, NJ) dropped a ball into the corner for Munoz who fed Maljiani. However, Mount St. Mary's goalkeeper Chris Davis (Townsville, Australia) got a piece of the blast and the ball caromed off the left post.
Maljiani registered the game-winner ? his league-leading eighth of the year ? in the 21st minute, depositing a penalty kick lower right. Davis guessed right, but Malijani's placement proved too much to handle. A run by freshman defender Jason Wells (Montclair, NJ/Montclair) (Montclair, NJ) created turmoil in the box, as sophomore midfielder Eric Detzel (York, PA) slid from a side angle and took out Wells.
Only 76 seconds later, a creative finish by King afforded FDU a 3-1 margin. Munoz burst through the middle then shifted the ball outside to senior midfielder Fabrizio Trezza (Rome, Italy, /Sion) (Rome, Italy). King accepted a square ball outside the box from Trezza, and lofted a shot into the upper left corner of the net.
In the 30th minute, the Mountaineers couldn't cash-in, as hustle allowed Fairleigh Dickinson's 3-1 lead to remain intact. Wells bumped a Mount player off a 50-50 ball, with Faraone tipping the ensuing shot. Zaineh rushed out and hit the turf, but the redirection popped the ball over him and towards an unguarded net. Reinecke sprinted in from the far side, escorting the ball over the end line with his right foot ? a foot away from pay dirt. Mount sophomore forward Scott Phinith (Gaithersburg, MD) volleyed the corner kick wide left, with Detzel popping a shot five minutes later off Zaineh and over the net.
Junior defender Serge Zulu (Longueuil, Quebec/College Francais) (Longueuil, Quebec) provided the Knights a three-goal cushion in the 40th minute, capitalizing on a service originating near the left end line by King. Zulu made a run to the back post and headed home his first goal of the fall.
Mount St. Mary's responded in the 42nd minute, cutting the deficit to 4-2 entering halftime. Wheeler scored again, this time tapping in a cross by freshman forward Kyle Patrick (Hershey, PA) that glanced off Zaineh's glove.
Zaineh came up huge in the 53rd minute, stoning Detzel and Berry seconds apart from point blank range. At the other end, King found Zulu who was turned away from 10 yards out by Davis.
FDU reclaimed a three-goal stronghold, 5-2, in the 57th minute when Malijani finished a sensational ball over the top of the ball line provided by Munoz. Malijani accelerated between a tandem of marks and settled Munoz's arcing assist. His next touch was a placement into the right side of the goal.
In the 63rd minute, Zaineh went full extension to push aside a shot with one hand. A corner resulted, with Wells holding his ground on the far post and heading away a Mountaineers shot. Zaineh released from the goalmouth in the 72nd minute and cut of sophomore midfielder Will Thomas' (Mount Rainier, MD) angle.
On the game's second penalty kick, Malijani provided the afternoon's exclamation point in the 77th minute with his second hat trick of the year and third of his illustrious career. This time, Malijani went finished lower left, as moments earlier Zulu was tripped from behind on a breakaway.
Wheeler's opportunity to reciprocate the feat was nullified by a gritty effort by Zaineh in the 81st minute. The Knights counter-attacked, led by midfielder Fernando Bo Huthmacher (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Da Lagoa) (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). The junior delivered a through ball to Munoz who carried past the keeper and dropped in a shot lower right. Seconds later, Roland and Assistant Coach Alex Passucci were greeted with a Gatorade cooler of water, with Assistant Coach Lawrence Dixon getting his share as the final horn sounded.
Fairleigh Dickinson almost tallied its eighth goal in the 86th minute. Sophomore forward Leslie Ayafor (Lauderhill, FL/Manchester Arts) (Lauderhill, FL) turned from atop the box and tried to bend a ball; but he fired wide right, while Davis caught out of position.
Zaineh recorded a career-high nine saves, en route to upping his record to 10-3-1 this season. Conversely, Davis made four stops.
Wheeler, Berry, and senior midfielder Steve Pathroff (North Ridgeville, OH) received All-Tournament prestige for the Mountaineers.
Meanwhile, the Knights are riding a season-best four-game winning streak. Roland's team will gather in the Knight Club (located in the Student Union Building) at 6:00 p.m., Monday, Nov. 17 to watch the NCAA Selection Show. The College Cup bracket, and subsequent seeding, will be announced live. First Round action is set to commence Friday, Nov. 21 and Saturday, Nov. 22 on campuses across the country.
