TEANECK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer team will be competing for its eighth Northeast Conference Tournament championship and ninth overall NEC title Sunday against the Long Island University Sharks at 1 p.m., in Loretto, Pa.

The championship game will be hosted at Saint Francis U's Stokes Soccerplex. The match will be streamed live for free on NEC Front Row as well as simulcast on ESPN3, and live stats will also be provided by Saint Francis U.

ENTERING THE KNIGHT
FDU played a hard-fought battle for 110 minutes against number one seed Saint Francis U in the NEC Semifinal on Friday, forcing a penalty kick shootout after the two teams ended a second overtime period tied at 0-0. Junior Jahmali Waite then stopped three of four Saint Francis shots in the shootout, and FDU made each of its first three attempts to advance to Sunday's championship match. Waite finished regulation and the two overtime periods with seven saves, including five in the second half.

SERIES SCORE
The Knights are 18-17-3 all-time in NEC Tournament play. Sunday will mark the third consecutive year that LIU and Fairleigh Dickinson meet in postseason play. Then LIU Brooklyn was the victor in each of the two previous meetings in the NEC Semifinals, and LIU has a 3-2 advantage in the previous five times the two teams have played in the NEC Tournament. Both of FDU's wins over LIU in the postseason helped clinch NEC titles (2001, 2002). The two teams have combined to win 14 of the 34 previous NEC championships (FDU 8 times, LIU 4 times).

CLOSING THE REGULAR SEASON ON A GOOD NOTE
The Knights defeated Mount St. Mary's, 5-0, on Senior Day, with freshman Ville Ahola scoring two goals and junior Diego Arribas netting three assists to lead the way. Senior Gabriele Lanzani and freshman Jared Dillon each had a goal and an assist as well, and redshirt-sophomore Adrian Barajas also scored for the Knights. FDU needed a win and some help from SFU and LIU to vault St. Francis Brooklyn and Robert Morris in the standings and earn the fourth playoff spot on the final day of the season.

POSTSEASON PLAY
It is the Knights' 22nd conference tournament appearance and third straight year making the postseason. FDU seeks its eighth NEC Tournament title in program history and ninth NEC title overall (FDU also won the NEC in 1988 before the conference installed a tournament championship). The Knights' last championship was back in 2012, when they advanced all the way to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament. 

LAST TIME AGAINST LIU
Fairleigh Dickinson fell 1-0 to LIU in the regular season, giving up a goal in the 62nd minute that proved to be the difference in the contest. The two teams battled competitively for offensive chances while playing tough defense through the first 60 minutes, and FDU rallied near the end of the match to try to equalize, but none of their three opportunities in the closing minutes could find the net. Waite made four saves in the loss.

ROLLING WITH ROLAND
Head coach Seth Roland is the NEC's all-time winningest coach in men's soccer with 212 victories at Fairleigh Dickinson in 23 years. He has guided the Knights to six of FDU's seven NEC Tournament titles and four regular season titles as well. The Knights have qualified for the NEC Tournament in 17 of his 23 years at the helm, and his record in the NEC playoffs stands at 13-10-3. 

APPROACHING THE RECORD BOOK
Arribas enters Friday's game with 36 career points (10 goals, 16 assists), and his 16 assists are two shy of tying for 10th place in FDU history. Junior goalkeeper Jahmali Waite is also close to the top-10 in career shutouts, needing one more to reach the number (12) after posting his 11th shutout of his career on Friday vs. Saint Francis.

ARRIBA, ARRIBA
Arribas has been the offensive catalyst for the Knights this season. The First-Team All-NEC forward leads the team with eight goals and 21 points and is tied with Ahola for most assists on the team with five. Arribas ranks second among NEC players in points, is tied for second in assists and tied for third in goals scored in the league. He has totaled the most points by a Knight in a single season since 2010 when Dominic Reinold accrued 22 points.

NO WAITING ON JAHMALI
Junior goalkeeper and Second-Team All-NEC pick Jahmali Waite is third among NEC goalkeepers this season with 71 saves. He also ranks in the top five among keepers in save percentage (.789) and goals-against average (1.08). 

HOLA, VILLE 
Freshman and NEC All-Rookie Team midfielder Ville Ahola leads all NEC freshmen with five assists this season, and he has also scored two goals to total nine points (third on the team). The freshman recorded three of his assists this season on three of the five goals FDU scored to defeat Central Connecticut State, 5-1, back on October 13. 

GIANT KILLERS 
Back on September 6, the Knights went on the road and defeated no. 23 UConn, 2-1, scoring two goals in a span of three minutes. Arribas assisted redshirt sophomore Adrian Barajas on the first FDU goal, then finished a volley strike from redshirt senior Daniel Lasarte three minutes later to score the game-winning goal. The win was FDU's third straight against a ranked opponent, and the Knights are 5-2-1 this decade against ranked foes, with wins over American, St. John's (twice) and Saint Louis as well. 

NEC WEEKLY HONORS
A Knight has garnered NEC Player or Rookie of the Week honors a total of five times this season. Junior Diego Arribas is a two-time NEC Player of the Week, earning the honor after FDU's win over UConn as well as for scoring the two goals that included the golden goal in FDU's 4-3 overtime victory vs. St. Francis Brooklyn. Jahmali Waite also received Player of the Week honors after registering a career high of 14 saves at Cornell. Freshmen Ville Ahola and Peter Kozlej each garnered NEC Rookie of the Week honors once this season, with Ahola's honor in recognition of his two assists vs. SFBK, while Kozlej received the honor after scoring only the second goal allowed by Merrimack to a NEC foe this season to help force overtime in that game. 

NEC RANKS 
The Knights rank third in the conference in points (77) and goals (26) and are second in the league in assists (25) and total shots taken (252) this season. Arribas is second in the NEC with 21 points, while he and Ahola are tied for second in the league with five assists. Arribas is also tied for third among NEC players in goals scored this season. 

Bogota Savings Bank is the presenting sponsor of the 2019 men's soccer season.