LORETTO, Pa. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer team allowed three first-half goals to fall behind early before gaining one back late, suffering a 3-1 conference road defeat Sunday afternoon.
 
The Knights (4-5-1, 0-1-1 NEC) surrendered goals in the ninth, 22nd and 31st minute of the first half but also had chances of their own to score in the opening period. FDU, however, could not finish their opportunities until junior Diego Arribas buried a penalty kick goal with less than four minutes left, earning his fourth goal of the season and second on a penalty kick.
 
"Tough day at the office today," head coach Seth Roland said after the match. "We were not very good defensively in the first half, and yet in attack we created four or five legitimate scoring opportunities that included two breakaways. If we want to compete and win games in the NEC, we must stick those opportunities away. It's good that we're creating them but frustrating that we're not finishing them. Hopefully, we'll be sharper with our finishing in the future."
 
FDU junior goalkeeper Jahmali Waite made one save in the loss. The Knights outshot the Red Flash 14-9 in the match, with each team taking four shots on goal.
 
Sophomore forward Joshua Ferreira worked his way to create an early scoring chance for the Knights in the game's first four minutes, guiding a shot toward net that forced a save by SFU goalkeeper Jonas Dieseler. Five minutes later, the Red Flash netted their first goal on a penalty kick.
 
The Knights created another good chance in the 12th minute by earning a corner kick opportunity. Arribas served the ball into the middle and connected with sophomore Anthony Herbert, who headed the ball toward the right side of the net. Dieseler, however, extended to get a hand on the ball to make the close save.
 
SFU scored two more goals in a nine-minute stretch of the first half to open up a 3-0 lead, but the Knights continued to fight back for scoring chances. Arribas along with Ferreira, redshirt senior Daniel Lasarte and sophomore Ideal Shefqeti all guided shots that were either blocked away by the Red Flash defense or just high of the net, with Lasarte also pushing a ball toward net that a Red Flash defender booted away just before the ball had a chance to cross the goal line.
 
Freshman Jared Dillon provided FDU with its next best chance at a goal, streaking upfield on a breakaway in the 56th minute and firing a left-footed shot across the net that the SFU goalkeeper stopped.
 
The Knights, however, were limited in their chances on goal in the second half until Arribas was tripped up in the penalty box in the 87th minute. The junior lined up his free shot on goal and placed the ball into the right side of the net for the goal.

In the match, the Knights played a total of 19 players, with Waite, Herbert, sophomore Fallou Tounkara and freshman Jared Subarsky playing all 90 minutes of the game.
 
FDU stays on the road for its next NEC match, traveling to Sacred Heart on Friday for a 3 p.m. match in Fairfield, Conn.