TEANECK, N.J. - The Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer team was defeated at home by Yale Sunday afternoon by a final score of 1-0. The loss moves the Knights to 3-4-2 on the season.
FDU returns to action on Friday, September 28 when they open up conference play with a trip to Emmitsburg, Md. for a clash with Mount St. Mary's. Goalkeeper Jahmali Waite made two saves on the afternoon. The Knights offense finished with five shots, including four shots on goal.
"We lost to a very solid team that is going to compete for the Ivy League title this season," head coach Seth Roland said. "I told the guys that we were going to have a much tougher non-conference schedule this year, and that we were going to have some ups and downs. I expect that we are going to use the ups and downs that we get from a competitive non-conference schedule to help us when conference play starts."
For the second consecutive game, the Knights conceded the opening goal of the afternoon after Yale forward Paolo Carroll collected a pass on the right wing before lashing a hard, low strike past a diving Waite and into the back of the net to give Yale a 1-0 lead just five minutes in.
The Bulldogs nearly doubled their lead just over a minute later when Kyle Kenagy let go of a dangerous looking strike from the top of the box, however Waite was there to make the stop and stem Yale's early momentum.
After a furious opening few minutes, both teams settled into a rhythm, as the Knights began to counter with a few good looks of their own.
In the 7', Jacob Labovitz appeared to split two defenders in the box with possession of the ball, however the flag went up and he was ruled offside.
Noah Chia took a corner in the 20' that was well defended by the Yale back line. Ahu Obhakhan nearly leveled in the 21' but was stopped by Yale keeper Andrew Bortey. One minute later it was Lasarte with the quality chance, however his effort was also swallowed up by Bortey.
The Knights next dangerous chance came in the 47' with another Chia corner, however the Yale back line proved up to the task once again as they headed the effort out of harms way.
Labovitz had one last chance to tie things up in the 87', however his shot was also saved. Despite a solid bout of pressure, the Knights could not breakthrough before time expired.
"We need to keep working and keep developing, keep getting better," Roland said. "I'm confident and optimistic that we are ready to start NEC play, and we're looking forward to our opener at the Mount on Friday."
