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TEANECK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer team will commence its 2012 season on Friday night with a home match against America East power Stony Brook. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at University Stadium.
 
The Knights went 2-0 in the preseason with victories over Iona (3-2) and Seton Hall (2-0). The bar has been set high this season after FDU, who was picked to finish second in the Northeast Conference, just missed advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 2011, losing to Monmouth in double overtime, 2-1, in the NEC Tournament final. The Knights return almost everyone from last year's 11-5-3 squad, which includes nine starters.
 
“We are coming off two solid preseason scrimmages where we learned a lot about our team,” Head Coach Seth Roland said. “We have a lot to work on but there were a lot of positives that came out of those games as well.  However, tomorrow night represents the first game that counts. The question is can we sustain the kind of form that we have shown in preseason, and are we going to be good enough to win against a team that is a level or two above our two preseason opponents?”
 
Senior Jack McVey (Douglas, Isle of Man/St. Ninian’s ), the team's leader in goals (7) and assists (4) a year ago, while earning First Team All-NEC honors, will anchor the offense. Fellow classmate and countryman Antony Moore (Douglas, Isle of Man/St. Ninian’s ) (four goals, three assists) along with sophomore Miguel Escobar (Medellin, Columbia/The Columbus School) (four goals) join McVey as the top returning offensive threats. Sophomore Anders Vest-Hansen (Nykobing, Denmark/Celf) (one goal, three assists) will also play a pivotal role on the pitch.
 
Junior goalkeeper Jacob Lissek (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Rock Canyon) will look to improve upon his fantastic 2011 season, which consisted of six shutouts, 94 saves and only 16 goals allowed (0.79 goals per game) en route to posting an 11-5-3 record. Seniors Jason Wells (Montclair, NJ/Montclair) and Tatenda Chimhanda (Harare, Zimbabwe/St. George's) also return to anchor a defense that was near the top in the NEC.
 
Stony Brook will also be opening its 2012 season on Friday night.  This season's America East favorite is coming off its second conference championship title in the last three seasons and third overall. The Seawolves are ranked No. 47 in Top Drawer Soccer's preseason poll and return seven starters from last year's NCAA Tournament team, which lost at Monmouth in shootout (tied 0-0 after double overtime) to finish the season with a record of 10-6-4.
 
FDU and Stony Brook are meeting for the seventh time in the all-time series that dates back to 1971. The Knights won the first five matches before the Seawolves squeaked out a 2-1 victory last season in Stony Brook, N.Y.