A pair of goals, from Sergio Munoz (Linden, NJ/Linden) and Samson Malijani (Lusaka, Zambia, /La Sapienza), gave the
Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer team a critical 2-1 win versus St.
Francis NY. The Knights and Terriers entered the game tied for third
place in the Northeast Conference, each vying for a berth to the NEC
Tournament. FDU improves to 10-5-2, including a 5-2-1 record in league
action and clinches a spot in the four-team Northeast Conference
Tournament, while the Terriers fall to 11-4-2, with a 4-3-1 mark in
conference play.
The Knights had a chance to score in the first half as Paul King (New Castle, England/Monkseaton) shot the ball from 25-yards out, but it bounced off the post. Fernando Huthmacher gave the Knights another chance in the first frame, but his shot was blocked by a defender.
The two teams went into the half scoreless, but St. Francis didn't waste any time coming out of the break as they got on the scoreboard a minute into the second half. Alex Silaco dished the ball to Jeverton Delorenzi, who found the back of the net from 25-yards out on the left side of the box for his sixth goal of the season.
Huthmacher, who was responsible for both FDU assists in the game, found the feet of Sergio Munoz (Linden, NJ/Linden) in the 57th minute. Munoz fired from the right side of the box, 22-yards out to knot the score at 1-1.
Eight minutes later, Huthmacher sent a pass that led Samson Malijani (Lusaka, Zambia, /La Sapienza) down the middle of the box. He went one-on-one with the Nick Baum, who dove to the right, and Malijani sank his 14th goal of the season. Baum made four saves between the posts for the Terriers. Majdi Zaineh (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) played in net for the Knights, making five saves to improve to a 7-3-1 record.
“We showed some character today coming back from a 1-0 deficit and got a very important three points out of it,” said Head Coach Seth Roland. “A few people came off the bench to give us a real lift, which is great.”
FDU out-shot St. Francis, 13-11, and held a slight 7-6 edge in corner kicks.
The Knights close out the season at home versus Long Island on Sunday, Nov. 9 at 1:00 p.m. Seniors Jermaine Hardy (Portland, Jamaica/), Rasi McKenzie (Bronx, NY/), Marcos Morales (St. Charles, IL/St. Charles) and Fabrizio Trezza (Rome, Italy, /Sion) will be honored in a ceremony prior to the game.
