TEANECK, N.J. – Entering the Northeast Conference tournament for the sixth straight season, the Fairleigh Dickinson women's soccer team is ready to play its semifinal matchup with Central Connecticut State Friday at 1 p.m. in New Britain, Conn.
The match will be streamed live on NEC Front Row, and live stats are available through the CCSU athletics website. The winner of Friday's semifinal will advance to the NEC Championship game on Sunday, November 4, at 1 p.m.
ENTERING THE KNIGHT
By making the NEC Tournament for a sixth straight year, the Knights (6-9-3, 4-3-1 NEC) are now one of five current NEC schools to have a streak of at least six straight tournament appearances. Their streak is the second-longest active streak to Saint Francis U, who has made the tournament in nine straight years.
LAST TIME OUT
The Knights fell to Sacred Heart, 1-0, on Senior Day this past Sunday. The Knights had already earned their spot in the tournament before the contest started, having secured a tiebreaker advantage over Bryant (head-to-head win) that guaranteed their spot no matter the outcome.
POSTSEASON PLAY
Friday will mark the Knights' ninth conference tournament appearance and sixth straight year in the postseason. FDU seeks its second title in program history. Back in 2015, the Knights won the program's first tournament title at University Stadium.
TOURNAMENT FOES
Fairleigh Dickinson is 0-2-1 against fellow NEC Tournament qualifiers this season. The Knights tied Mount St. Mary's in their first NEC contest of the season, 1-1, back on Sept. 23, then followed that match with a 2-1 defeat at CCSU on Sept. 28. FDU then went on a four-game win streak in the NEC before losing to second-seed Saint Francis U in overtime, 2-1, at University Stadium on Oct. 20.
SERIES SCORE
The Knights are 4-6-1 all-time in NEC Tournament play. Friday will be the second meeting between CCSU and Fairleigh Dickinson in postseason play. The teams first met in the NEC Tournament back in 2014, with CCSU winning 2-0 in the championship matchup hosted at University Stadium. Overall, CCSU leads the all-time series with FDU, 14-6, with FDU last defeating CCSU in 2017. FDU is 2-8 against the Blue Devils in New Britain, having last won there back in 2016 (2-0).
SCOUTING CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE
The Blue Devils (14-1-2, 8-0 NEC) secured the NEC regular season title and right to host the NEC Tournament. CCSU has allowed only three goals in NEC play, with one of the them scored by the Knights in their 2-1 loss. The senior duo of Charlotte Maurer and Danielle Pearse are two of the top three scorers in the NEC this season. Maurer has totaled 20 points with eight goals and four assists, while Pearse has 17 points with seven goals and three assists. Senior goalkeeper Ashley Cavanaugh has a 0.48 goals-against-average this season and a .886 save percentage, both of which lead the NEC.
TRUST IN TEEPE
Knights head coach
Eric Teepe is 29-7-4 in NEC regular season games in five seasons at Fairleigh Dickinson, and he has a tournament record of 3-2-1. He holds program records for most overall wins (52) and conference wins.
CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOK
Senior
Elma Kolenovic became the fifth player in Knights history to reach 50 career points earlier this season. She has totaled 54 points in 70 games, scoring 20 goals with 14 career assists. She is currently in the FDU record book third in points, tied for third in goals and fifth in assists.
POWERFUL SOPHOMORES
FDU is led this season by the sophomore duo of
Viktorija Miseljic and
Sofia Albertsson. Miseljic leads the team with six goals and 14 points to go with two assists, while Albertsson has racked up four goals and three assists for a total of 11 points. Both players moved into the top 15 in FDU program history in points (Albertssson – 33, 14th; Miseljic – 31, t-15th).
IMPACT FRESHMEN
The Knights have had five freshmen play at least 14 games, with three making at least 11 starts.
Noam Kedem and
Christa Waterman both start on the backline for the Knights and each have scored a goal and earned NEC Rookie of the Week honors during the season.
Madelyn Robbins has started 14 games in the midfield, racking up three assists and a goal.
Lea Egner has played in 15 matches with seven starts and is tied with Kolenovic for the team lead with four assists.
Isabelle Udovc has played in all 18 matches and scored the Knights' goal against SFU.
SAVE AFTER SAVE
Junior goalkeeper
Amanda Fitzgerald is already the all-time FDU leader in saves, adding to her career total with four saves vs. Sacred Heart. Her 293 career saves ranks third among active juniors in NCAA Division I women's soccer.
