TEANECK, N.J. - The Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer team played to a 1-1 draw against Lafayette Saturday evening at University Stadium. The draw pushes the Knights overall record in 2018 to 3-2-2. FDU returns to action on Tuesday, September 18 when they head to New Rochelle, New York for a clash against Iona.
Ideal Shefqeti scored the lone goal for FDU, his first of the season. Goalkeeper Jahmali Waite stopped three of four shots on goal.
"I thought we played pretty well for the most part," head coach Seth Roland said. "We created opportunities all night, we just need to keep creating them and hopefully our finishing will get a little sharper and we can start to find the back of the net. Had out finishing been a little sharper tonight we almost certainly would have won the game."
Saturday's clash was played at a frenetic pace, with both teams forcing the issue heavily in the attack and combining for 27 shots as well as 11 shots on goal.
Waite made a tough stop in the 9' minute on forward Andrew Venezia, who stepped into a strike from about 12 yards out but was unable to put it past a well-positioned Waite.
Shortly thereafter the Knights were forced to endure a pair of quick corners, however Waite once again stood tall and nothing came of the chances.
It didn't take FDU quite as many looks to get things started, however, as Ideal Shefqeti drove home his first tally of the season in the 20' after collecting the ball in the box and slotting home a hard, low shot just inside the far post to put FDU up 1-0.
Spurred on by the goal, FDU kept pressing. Ahu Obhakhan nearly doubled FDU's lead in the 22' and 23' with a pair of quick chances, however the pair of efforts failed to find their mark. Five minutes later Diego Arribas nearly found a goal for himself, however his strike sailed wide after another flurry of chances.
The Leopards managed to level in the 32' after Chris Gomez gathered a rebound in the box before stashing home a firm strike into the upper right 90 that beat a diving Waite and put Lafayette on the board.
As the game wore on into the second half, it seemed like both teams could do everything but score, as each side generated a multitude of high-quality looks but failed to cash in.
Quick strikes from Shefqeti and Noah Chia as the second opened up nearly put FDU up 2-1. The looks led to a pair of corners from Jeremy Despringre but nothing else.
It initially looked as if Lafayette had leveled in the 63' off of a header in the box, but the effort deflected off the crossbar and straight down before being punched out by Waite, never crossing the line. A nearly identical chance almost did the Knights in during the final minute of regulation, however it too hit the crossbar and stayed out.
Overtime saw both squads throwing everything left in the tank at the net, however Waite and his contemporary Alex Sutton stood firm. Both Arribas and Chia found themselves with time and space, however neither managed to convert their effort before time expired.
"I thought we defended well all night, I liked the way we kept the ball and controlled the game," Roland said. "Lafayette is a very athletic, competitive, difficult opponent and I liked the way we completed. I thought the effort was great, hopefully we just learn to capitalize on a few more chances in the future.
