TEANECK, N.J. - The Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer team earned their first win of the season Monday evening at University Stadium, taking down Army West Point by a final score of 2-1. The win moves the Knights to 1-0-1 on the season.
Ahu Obhakhan provided both goals for the Knights, pushing his season total to three. Jahmali Waite turned aside three of four shots on goal to earn his first victory of the year.
FDU returns to action on Friday, August 31 when they head to Birmingham, Alabama to take on UAB in the Soccer for a Cure Classic.
"It's a good win for us, and it feels good to get the first win of the year under our belt," head coach Seth Roland said. "When you play a U.S. military academy, you're in for a battle. They compete hard, but at the same time I loved the way we competed as well. I like our mentality. We were tough all night and showed a lot of heart."
From the opening kick, it was evident that a stifling and formidable Army defense was going to give FDU all they could handle, smothering the Knights in the midfield and preventing any sort of sustained pressure.
The Black Knights earned the first quality look of the evening on offense as well, nearly going up a goal in the 12' after being awarded a corner, however Waite was in position to spike the effort over the backline and out of harms way.
Despite the presence of the Black Knight pressure, Obhakhan put the Knights on the board first, fighting off an Army defender in a one-on-one battle near the left sideline for possession of the ball before curling in and ripping a perfect strike into the far side corner from 20 yards out.
Army would counter-attack, however, and after another extended bout of possession were finally able to cash in after Keenan O'Shea produced a stunning long-distance strike of his own to level for Army 1-1 in the 27'.
The two squads continued to trade chances into the second half of a game that became intensely physical and hard fought more and more as the night wore on, however neither was able to convert.
After a flurry of shots including an effort from Diego Arribas that sailed just wide failed to find their mark, Obhakhan struck yet again for FDU, tallying his second goal of the game and third of the season after he tapped home a perfect cross into the box from Daniel Lasarte to make it 2-1 Knights.
The Knights would hold onto the lead for the rest of the evening to come away with their first win of the 2018 campaign.
"I thought for the first 25 minutes or so we weren't all that sharp, but then we really started to pick it up as the game went on," Roland said. "We need everybody ready to contribute. We had a lot of guys play tonight and have more guys who can contribute as well, we just have to keep working hard every day."
