The Fairleigh Dickinson University men's soccer was edged in its conference opener against Mount St. Mary's, 2-1, on Friday afternoon.
Mount St. Mary's (2-6-0, 1-0-0 NEC) opened scoring five minutes into the game as junior Scott Phinith (Gaithersberg, MD) found junior Eric Detzel (York, PA) with a cross. Detzel found the back right of the goal past the diving FDU goalkeeper to put Mount up, 1-0.
The Knights got on the board with an own goal in the 31st minute, as freshman Dominic Reinold (Wesseling, Germany/Gesamtschule Rodenkirchen) (Wesseling, Germany) served up a free kick cross that landed in front of the net and was knocked in by the huddle.
The Mountaineers added to their lead, breaking up the tie in the 36th minute as Detzel scored his fourth goal of the season. He dribbled down the middle of the field and fired into the left side of the goal to put Mount ahead, 2-1.
The Knights had a chance to tie it up, as sophomore Paul King (New Castle, England/Monkseaton) (New Castle, England) found a pass in front of the net and tapped it into the net with six minutes remaining in the half, but the Knights were called offsides just prior to the goal, cancelling the tally.
In the second half, FDU had another goal called off because of offsides, after sophomore Cristian Vasconez (Quito, Ecuador) sank one into the net.
The Knights out-shot Mount St. Mary's, 11-5, and held an 8-4 edge in corner kicks. Junior Majdi Zaineh (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) (Clifton, NJ) made three saves in net for the Knights, while junior Chris Davis (Townsville, Australia) grabbed four saves between the posts for the Mount.
"I thought we played well enough to win," said Head Coach Seth Roland. "We put Mount under so much pressure second half and created so many opportunities. Their goalkeeper was the difference and they battled very hard to keep the lead and win the game, and I give them credit for that."
The Knights continue conference competition at home as they host Monmouth on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 1:00 p.m.
