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Game Notes

TEANECK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer team (4-4-1, 1-0-0 NEC) will hit the road for a pair of Northeast Conference matches this weekend. On Friday night, the Knights will take on Garden State rival Monmouth at 7 p.m. in West Long Branch, N.J. before playing Mount St. Mary's on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. in Emmitsburg, Md.

FDU is coming off a 2-1 victory over LIU Brooklyn this past Friday at University Stadium to open conference play. Senior Jack McVey (Douglas, Isle of Man/St. Ninian’s ) scored a pair of goals in the first half, while junior goalkeeper Jacob Lissek (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Rock Canyon) made four great saves in the second half to preserve the win.

McVey leads the team with five goals and 12 points. Lissek has gone 4-2-1 between the pipes and has made 27 saves.

The Hawks, who are picked to win their eighth consecutive NEC regular season title, are off to a 5-3-1 (0-1-0 NEC) start this season and have been ranked as high as No. 19 in the country. Despite going unbeaten in its first five matches (4-0-1), Monmouth has struggled of late, losing its last two and three of four.

The five-time NEC Tournament champions, including the last three, are unbeaten at home on The Great Lawn (3-0-1) and will look to rebound against FDU on its home pitch after losing at Iona (3-1) and at Central Connecticut State (1-0) over their last two. The Hawks also lost at Seton Hall 1-0 before shutting out College of Charleston at home 1-0.

Monmouth won at Towson 1-0, defeated Providence at home 3-1, won at Rider 2-0, tied with Hofstra at home, 1-1, and shutout Columba on The Great Lawn, 1-0, to start the season.

The Hawks are led by junior midfielder Francois Navarro (3 goals, 3 assists), junior forward Edney Derrick (2 g, 3 a), junior forward Jacob Rubinstein (2 g, 2 a) and senior midfielder Ryan Clark (1 g, 3 a). Junior goalkeeper Alex Blackburn has posted six shutouts, with five of them coming in 1-0 victories, and has played every second in goal.

FDU and Monmouth will be meeting for the 36th time in the all-time series, which dates back to 1982. The Knights lead the series 20-14-1 but have lost the last eight, including a pair of heartbreakers last season. Monmouth won at University Stadium in overtime, 1-0, before defeating FDU 2-1 in double overtime in an epic NEC Tournament championship game, which saw the Hawks win the match on a 30-yard shot with 20 seconds remaining before a potential penalty kick shootout.

The Mount, who are picked to finish sixth in the NEC, are off to a 2-7-0 (0-2-0 NEC) start and will host Bryant on Friday before playing the Knights at Waldron Family Stadium on Sunday.

After staring out the season 1-1-0 with a pair of home matches (lost 2-1 to Towson in double overtime; defeated VMI 1-0), the Mount lost their next four (at LaSalle 2-0, vs. UMBC 1-0, at Virginia 6-1, vs. Lafayette 2-0) and were outscored 11-1. They won at Howard 1-0 to snap the losing streak but opened conference play last weekend with a pair of road losses at St. Francis NY (3-1) and LIU Brooklyn (1-0). On the year, the Mount has been outscored 17-5, which includes a margin of 10-2 in the first half.

Four players have scored goals for the Mount and sophomore midfielder Zoncher Dennis leads the way with two. Senior goalkeeper Peter Steve has played every second in the net, while posting a pair of shutouts.

FDU and the Mount will be meeting for the 25th time since 1989 with the Knights leading the all-time series. The Knights won last season 2-0 at University Stadium after being shutout 1-0 the year before at the Mount.

FDU will be looking for back-to-back 3-0-0 starts in NEC play for the first time in program history.