HACKENSACK, N.J. – Fairleigh Dickinson clinched its berth in the Northeast Conference Tournament for the fourth straight season with a 4-2 win over LIU Brooklyn on Senior Night at University Stadium.

The 2016 seniors; Kayla Adams (Ajax, Ontario/Pickering ), Gabrielle Gibson (Chalfont, Pa./Central Bucks South), Connie Lewis (Outer Cove, Newfoundland/Gonzaga ) and Giselles Perez (Carteret, N.J./Carteret), become the first senior class in program history to play in the NEC Tournament in each of their four seasons.

A trio of second-half goals in a span of 10 minutes erased a one-goal deficit and made it a two-goal win for Fairleigh Dickinson (7-10-1, 5-1-1 NEC).

"We finally got a couple bounces," said head coach Eric Teepe of his team's late offensive surge.  He added, "We had more than enough chances throughout. It was similar to last Friday where we creating chances we just weren't finding the net. I feel like we can get better in front of the net. The one thing you cannot question about this team is the character that they have."

We are still making a lot of young mistakes. With youth comes energy but also a learning process and we have taken a lot of beatings in different types of games and have figured out a way to clean it up.

Lewis scored in the 77th minute and then four minutes later to tie the game and then give the Knights a 3-2 lead. Battistoni found Lewis with a lob through ball and Lewis chipped it past the keeper. Lewis then beat the LIU goalkeeper to a Dara Battistoni (Pleasant Valley, N.Y./Arlington) cross--off a pass from Reinhardt--for her second of the night and fourth of the season.

Stasi Torchia (Pickering, Ontario/St. Mary's) provided the insurance when she headed home a corner kick from Reinhardt, who finished with three assists, in the 87th minute for her second of the season.

LIU Brooklyn (2-15, 1-7 NEC) scored first on the first of two goals from Madison Gomez in the 12th minute.

Dara Battisoni's fourth of the season tied the game for the Knights in the 21st minute when she flicked the ball in with her back heel after Lewis' low cross. Reinhardt started the sequence with a cross from the left wing.

Gomez then struck in the 64th minute when she got on the end of a chipped pass from Tori Shnikowitz.
 
Fifteen minutes later the Knights struck for their three goals in 10 minutes.

Lewis finished the night with five points (2G-1A). Battistoni added four (1G-2A) along with Reinhardt's three.

Teepe added, "We are moving forward at the right time. Our first goal was to get in the tournament, that is done. If we find a win on Sunday and get some results [in other places] then we can win the league again. We have watched Mount all year. They fight all time and battled again today."

The 2016 regular season comes to a close on Sunday when the Knights visit Mount St. Mary's at 11 a.m. down in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The can be watched live on necfrontrow.com.