LORETTO, Pa. -  The Fairleigh Dickinson University men's soccer team defeated Saint Francis 2-1 in double-overtime Friday afternoon to earn its first NEC Conference victory of the season.  The win moves the Knights to 7-4-1 on the season (1-2 NEC). 

Goalkeeper Jahmali Waite stopped five of six shots on goal to earn the win.  Jacob Labovitz (4) and Daniel Lasarte (3) provided the goalscoring on the afternoon for the Knights.  

"This was a character-defining win," head coach Seth Roland said  "We were playing quite well, and when they scored midway through the second half we could've folded. Instead, we stepped it up a level and took over the match the rest of the way."

The victory was Roland's 100th in the NEC -- the 21-year head coach of the Knights currently has a 100-52-29 mark in conference matches.

Waite made the first legitimate stop of the game, gobbling up a hard left-footed strike from Christian Kirchhoff in the box in the 4' to stymie a bout of Red Flash possession.  It was the only meaningful action in the opening 20 minutes of the game, as both teams continued to stifle momentum through the midfield. 

Mario Mastrangelo got another clean look at the FDU net in the 23', collecting a ball at the top of the box before a turning strike that sailed several feet high of the net.  The pressing from Saint Francis remained firm, however the FDU backline remained composed and limited quality scoring chances against Waite. 

"We were outstanding defensively from a team standpoint. Everyone competed in a cohesive and focused manner," Roland said.  

The Knights best chance in the first came the 27', as three consecutive Red Flash fouls eventually led to to FDU being awarded a corner.  Although Daniel Lasarte's initial effort of the set piece looked promising, SFU defended well, preventing any of the Knights from earning a clean look on goal. 

A few more stops by Waite at the other end proved to be the only other action in the first 45, as both teams went into halftime even at 0-0.  

The Flash would continue to attack and own the bulk of the scoring chances as the second half opened up, getting a solid look from Kyle Moerschbacher in the 47' that Waite expertly handled once again. 

The Knights nearly went up 1-0 in the 58' when a sharp header from Casey Abelein initially appeared to at least partially cross the line, however SFU goalkeeper Marcus Rojas managed to reach back and grab it before it could squeak all the way over, saving the goal and keeping the score level at 0-0.  

The Flash finally broke through in the 67' minute when midfielder Troye Kiernan collected a pass on the run before pulling up and firing a bullet strike from 25 yards out into the upper right-hand corner of the net and past a diving Waite to give the Flash a 1-0 lead. 

The Knights continued to look for chances, however, and managed a big response just a few minutes later. 

Following a nice through-ball from Leo Dalesandro, Jacob Labovitz collected the pass before making a nice move on Rojas who had come way out the net to make a play before firing a strike top-shelf from a tight angle to level things for FDU.  It was his fourth goal of the season.   

"Jacob scored an outstanding goal to tie it up three minutes after they took the lead, and that gave us the confidence to feel that we could knock them off on their home turf. They're a very good team, very balanced. But the guys kept pushing for the winner," Roland said.  

Both squads kept the pressure up for the remainder of regulation, however extra time would prove necessary in deciding things. 

The Knights came out firing in the first extra period, with shots from Lasarte and Ahu Obhakhan that were turned away or sailed wide coming in the 97'.  Diego Arribas had another effort blocked by an SFU defender, however the defense held firm as things headed into the second overtime still deadlocked at 1-1. 

After defending a Flash corner in the 103', the Knights turned things around on the counter-attack, where in the 107' Daniel Lasarte finally ended things, turning on a loose ball off of a broken play and rocketing a strike into the upper-right corner of the net from just outside the box to give the Knights the 2-1 win in thrilling OT fashion.  

"Dani's game winning goal was the culmination of a bold attacking sequence which saw the ball roll out to him about 25 yards out," Roland said.  "He struck it first time and buried it in the upper 90, and the guys enjoyed a well-deserved celebration along with the three points."