TEANECK, NJ -  The Fairleigh Dickinson University men's soccer team improved to 2-0 on the season after taking down Manhattan College at home Monday evening at University Stadium by a final score of 3-1.  

Sebastian Ferreira earned his second win of the season in goal, while the goal scoring was served by the likes of Cristian Nunez (1), Fredinho Mompremier (2), and Ahu Obhakhan (1). The evening marked the second consecutive multi-goal game by the Knights in the still young 2017 season. 

"I thought all of our guys put in a good effort," head coach Seth Roland said.  "We created a lot of opportunities all night, and we're able to convert on a few of those and score three goals as well as play a tight defensive game."

The game's first half featured a bit of a feeling out process for both squads, as both the Knights and the Jaspers exchanged bouts of possession in the middle third of the pitch with neither side being able to turn their chances into anything meaningful. 

Slowly but surely, however, FDU found its footing offensively and began to turn up the gas. 

The first legitimate scoring chance of the night came courtesy of  Mompremier, who gathered the ball right in front of the FDU bench and went on a blazing run down the sideline, dribbling through a number of Manhattan defenders before cutting to the inside of the box and firing a cracking strike just high over the upper right corner of the net. 

The Knights nearly struck again a few minutes later when midfielder Daniel Lasarte found himself with time and space around the far post but couldn't manage to steer his header on target, driving the ball just wide of the net instead. 

Little by little, FDU's pace quickened, culminating in a series of scoring chances in the final moments of the opening half punctuated by narrow misses from Daniel Lasarte and Justin Depardieu.  Close chances though they were, Manhattan managed to weather the storm and take a 0-0 draw into the locker room at halftime. 

The Knights would not be denied much longer, however, and just moments into the second half FDU broke through with its first goal of the evening after Nunez deftly touched home a brilliant flick into the box from Lasarte, redirecting the ball off his right foot and into the back of the Manhattan net. 

Following the Nunez tally, the Knights demonstrated their quick-strike capabilities of an offense equipped with so many dynamic playmakers.

A little over three minutes later, Mompremier doubled the FDU lead to two goals after spotting an open gap in coverage and putting home a back-door feed from Marcus Marshall.  The finish provided a satisfying ending to a beautiful sequence of ball movement started initially by up the field Nunez before distributing well through traffic to Lasarte and on to Marshall. 

"We have several very dynamic players, and when you can isolate Freddy one-on-one, that's how you can begin to unsettle opposing defenses,"  Roland said.  "It was good to get him isolated and running at them one-on-one, and he finished it with a nice goal."

Manhattan would not go down without a fight, however, and quickly cut the lead back down to one in the 58th minute after Brandon Joseph-Baudi collected a loose ball in front of the net off an initial free kick and slotted it home for his first of the season. 

The Jaspers would continue to press, but the FDU defense stood tall, withstanding a physical effort from Manhattan and allowing just three shots against Ferreira on the evening.  

A late insurance goal in the 81st minute courtesy of Ahu Obhakhan secured the win for FDU as well as the first 2-0 start to a season since 2013. 

"Overall I'm pleased with the effort we gave all over the field tonight," Roland said.  "We defended tough, and I like that we're creating a lot of opportunities.  The hardest thing to do in soccer is creating chances, so I was pleased to see us score three."