TEANECK, N.J. --
Sofia Albertsson's header in the 36th minute was all the offense that Fairleigh Dickinson would need to beat Central Connecticut State in the Northeast Conference opener for both teams on Friday night.
The 1-0 win makes it five straight seasons of winning the conference opener for the Knights.
Albertsson scored her fifth of the season off an assist from
Jessi Reinhardt, who crossed into the box from the left wing. Albertsson then headed the ball back towards the left post and past Ashley Cavanaugh. Viktorija Miselic was able to find Reinhardt on the left side with a pass from the middle of the field.
Head coach
Eric Teepe told fduknights.com, "We have talked about a lot of things that we have been improving upon throughout nonconference play, so we thought we could have raised our game a little. This is why I like playing a top team like CCSU right off the bat, we know this is a team that is as good as any in our league, and That made us more prepared tonight."
After the Knights took the lead, they had a pair of chances in the closing stages of the half to double it. However, a shot from Reinhardt was blocked, and
Stasi Torchia lifted one over the crossbar.
The Fairleigh Dickinson (3-7-2, 1-0 NEC) defense limited Central Connecticut (4-6, 0-1 NEC) to only five shots on goal on the night, and none forced
Amanda Fitzgerald to make strenuous stops.
Fairleigh Dickinson had a series of opportunities to make it a 2-0 game with 20 minutes to go, but shots from Miseljic, Torchia, and
Daria Jones were either blocked or hit the post in Torchia's case.
Fitzgerald came off her line to control a corner amidst a crowd in the 85th minute.
The 11th and final shot for the Blue Devils on the night was a threatening one inside the final 25 seconds. Brianna Scaldaferri made a bid to tie the game from the left side that went just outside the right post and over the touchline.
Fitzgerald finished with five saves and earned her second straight shutout. That is the first time that the sophomore has recorded back-to-back clean sheets.
Teepe continued, "The learning curve is still large; we are a young team. We have to have same intensity on Friday v Wagner as we did tonight. That game will be a battle for us."
The Knights return to action next Friday night against Wagner at University Stadium for a 7 o'clock start. The game will also be on NECFrontRow.com.
