TEANECK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's soccer team takes its four-game win streak into an important Northeast Conference contest on Saturday, battling Saint Francis U at University Stadium at 3 p.m.
 
The match will be streamed live on NEC Front Row, and live stats will be available at fduknights.com.
 
ENTERING THE KNIGHT
The Knights (6-7-3, 4-1-1 NEC) are coming off their best offensive performance of the season, scoring six goals en route to a 6-2 victory at Wagner. The six goals were the most in a game for the Knights since the 2015 season. Four different players tallied goals for the Knights, including sophomore Alyssa Caggiano scoring her first goal of her career late in the second half. Sophomores Chloe Chefero and Gabby Garcia also recorded their first assists of the season. The Knights' four-game win streak entering Saturday matches their longest win streak of last season.
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Sofia Albertsson earned NEC Player of the Week honors on Tuesday after totaling two goals and an assist in FDU's win over Wagner. It was the first player of the week award for the Knights this season and also the first of Albertsson's career. The reigning NEC Rookie of the Year twice received rookie of the week honors last season. The sophomore is second on the team and sixth in the NEC in goals (four) and points (11) and moved into the top 14 on FDU's all-time list in career goals (13 – 11th) and career points (33 – 14th).
 
FRESHMAN BREAKOUT
Freshman Madelyn Robbins also played a memorable game Sunday at Wagner, racking up two assists (one to sophomore Viktorija Miseljic and another to Albertsson) in less than a minute before scoring her first career goal in the second half. Robbins' four points during the contest was tied for the most by any NEC rookie over the previous weekend.  The freshman has started each of the previous three matches after starting the first nine games of the season before suffering an injury.
 
POSTSEASON IMPLICATIONS
Besides being a rematch of last season's NEC title matchup, Saturday's tilt between the Knights and Red Flash could provide big NEC playoff picture implications. The Knights are currently second in the NEC standings with 13 points, and Saint Francis U is right behind them with 10 points. A win for the Knights clinches their sixth straight tournament appearance and keeps them alive for earning the top seed as long as CCSU loses out. A win for SFU will tie the two teams in the standings and provides SFU with the tiebreaker.
 
SERIES SCORE
The series between the two teams entering Saturday is tied at 9-9-4 and one of the two programs have won or tied for the NEC regular season title each of the past seven seasons, making it the premiere rivalry currently in the conference. Each of last season's contests ended in draws, including the championship bout that SFU eventually won on penalty kicks, and three of the previous four meetings have gone to double overtime. Before last season, the Knights ended as the winner in five of six games vs. Saint Francis. The Knights do have a 6-4-2 record against the Red Flash when the two teams meet at University Stadium.
 
SCOUTING SAINT FRANCIS U
The Red Flash (5-7-3, 3-1-1 NEC) is coming off a 2-0 defeat in its last game at Robert Morris, having previously gone unbeaten in four NEC matches. SFU has proven to be a much better team at home this season, going 4-1-1 so far in Loretto compared to 1-6-2 on the road. Alyssa McGhee leads the team in points (11), goals (four) and assists (three). Sara Suler and Mariana Jaleca each have scored three goals this season to go with two assists thus far. Goalkeeper Julia Hernan has saved 73 shots and allowed 15 goals for a 1.10 goals-against-average in 1,233 minutes.
 
AROUND THE NEC
Another important match for NEC Tournament purposes takes place Friday, with Mount St. Mary's (fourth place – eight points) traveling to first-place Central Connecticut State. Fifth-place Bryant (seven points) hosts Robert Morris on Friday and then LIU Brooklyn on Sunday. Wagner also plays two home contests this weekend, taking on Delaware State Friday night before hosting Mount St. Mary's Sunday afternoon.
 
TEEPE'S 100TH GAME
Saturday's game is also noteworthy as head coach Eric Teepe's 100th as head coach of the Knights. Over five seasons, Teepe has already won the most games of any Knights coach in program history (52) as well as the most NEC matches (29). The Knights have gone 29-5-4 in NEC regular season matches under Teepe's guidance and have made the NEC tournament in each of his four previous seasons. The 2015 Knights won the NEC championship after going a perfect 8-0 in conference matches and set the program record with 12 straight wins.