The Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer team will commence its 2011 season with a home match against NJIT on Friday. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at University Stadium in Teaneck, NJ.

 

After getting off to a slow start last season, the Knights rallied over the second half of the year by going 4-0-2 over their final six regular season contests to clinch the fourth and final spot in the NEC Tournament. For the second-consecutive year, top-ranked Monmouth ended the Knights' season in the semifinals with a 1-0 victory. FDU finished its season with a record of 9-7-2.

 

The Knights must replace last season's leading scorer, Dominic Reinold (Wesseling, Germany/Gesamtschule Rodenkirchen), who is playing professionally in Portugal. Head Coach Seth Roland will now look to sophomores #Michael Calderon (San Jose, Costa Rica/CEI)# (San Jose, Costa Rica / CEI) and Jonathan Gonzalez (Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield) (Bloomfield, NJ / Bloomfield), and junior Karlis Putans (Riga, Latvia/University of Latvia) (Riga, Latvia / University of Latvia) to spark the attack. Calderon supplied the Knights with two goals and one assist for five points, ranking third on the team, while Gonzalez and Putans netted one goal apiece.

 

The Knights and the Highlanders will be meeting for the 10th time in the all-time series which dates back to 1954. FDU holds a 4-3-2 advantage and won the last two recent meetings, 2-1 in 2009 and 2-0 in 2008.

 

NJIT went 4-13-1 last season. They will be led by first-year head man Cesar Markovic, who has led Saint Peter's and most recently Stony Brook to the NCAA Tournament. The Highlanders lost First Team All-Atlantic Conference performer Jack McVey (Douglas, Isle of Man/St. Ninian’s ) (Douglass, Isle of Man / St. Ninian's School), who is now a member of the Knights. McVey scored five goals last season and will be looked to add much-needed offense to the Knights' attack.