LORETTO, Pa. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer team battled to a penalty kick shootout in the Northeast Conference semifinal against Saint Francis U, and FDU advanced by winning the penalty kick round by a 3-1 margin to advance to the NEC Championship game.
 
The Knights (7-8-3) held the top offensive team in the tournament field scoreless through 110 minutes of regulation and two overtime periods, sending the match into a penalty kick shootout. In that PK round, the Knights buried each of their first three attempts, and junior Jahmali Waite stepped up and made three huge saves on Red Flash (10-5-1) shots to help win the game.
 
"I just went in there knowing if our team is going to win this game, it was going to be up to me," Waite said after the game. "I went in there focused knowing I had to make one save, and I made three which was good, got the win. It's just unbelieveable."
 
Junior Diego Arribas, redshirt senior Daniel Lasarte and sophomore Ideal Shefqeti scored the three Knights penalty shots, with Arribas and Lasarte both burying their attempts into the left corner, while Shefqeti ran his into the right side of the net. Having already stopped two shots and needing one more save to win, Waite punched the fourth SFU shot over the net to secure the victory.
 
"Anyone who would say a 0-0 soccer game is boring just missed an exciting one," head coach Seth Roland said after the game. "Both teams hit the post two or three times, so it was pretty exciting. Jahmali came up huge in the shootout, and that's what he does. He's a big-time player with a great mentality, and he's a great leader."
 
Waite finished the regulation periods and overtimes with seven saves, including five big stops in the second half. FDU's offense registered four shots on goal in the 110 minutes, and ten of the Knights' 11 starters played all 110 minutes in the match.
 
From the opening kick, the game turned into a defensive battle, with both teams battling for possession and chances to score in the attacking zone. The Knights played compact and together on the defensive end, limiting the Red Flash to just one shot on goal in the first 45 minutes.
 
FDU also had one shot on goal in the first half, with Arribas taking a shot in the eighth minute that the SFU goalkeeper saved. Another chance though in the 27th minute came on a corner kick, with Fallou Tounkara's header hitting the crossbar and bouncing out.
 
The Knight defense continued to stand tall in the second half, with Waite making an early save as well as stops on three more shots in the final five minutes of regulation to keep the game scoreless.
 
Sophomore Anthony Herbert attempted FDU's first shot on goal of the second half in the 63rd minute, and freshman Ville Ahola also had a good opportunity at goal but his shot ricocheted off the post.
 
Neither team created many chances in the first overtime period, but FDU generated the best opportunity with two minutes left. Freshman Peter Kozlej fired a shot from close range that bounced off the top of the crossbar and over the net, sending the game to a second overtime.
 
Both teams turned up the intensity in the second extra period. Ahola opened the period with a clear shot on target that was saved, and Waite made a crucial save on a Red Flash attempt with four minutes to go. On the counter attack from Waite's save, Arribas was able to maneuver past the Red Flash goalkeeper and had a shot with only a Red Flash defender standing in the way. The shot, however, was blocked away by the SFU defender and sent out of bounds.
 
The Red Flash had a final shot hit off the post as well in the final minute, meaning the penalty kick round was required. Waite deflected the first SFU shot off the post, and Arribas buried his first shot. Waite again made a save on the second shot by the Red Flash, and Lasarte similarly was successful on his attempt for FDU to go up 2-0.
 
SFU made their next penalty kick, but Shefqeti answered with a successful try of his own to put the Knights up 3-1. Waite then one last time got his hand on a Red Flash shot, and the Knights ran out onto the field to celebrate with their goalkeeper.
 
"Our entire team, the amount of energy the guys expended, and the heart they showed just battling and competing in this game is something that they can be very proud of," Roland added. "I'm really proud of them. We missed some golden opportunities but didn't let that get us down or deter us from ultimately advancing to the championship game."
 
FDU advances to play LIU, the winner of the first NEC Semifinal game, in Sunday's NEC title game, which kicks off from Loretto, Pa. at 1 p.m. It will be the first appearance for the Knights in the NEC title game since they last won the NEC in 2012. That year, the Knights won both their NEC matches on penalty kicks.
 
"It's going to take a herculean effort on our part to recover and play a very dangerous LIU team, who defends really well," Roland said. "But, hopefully, we'll be up to the task. We'll see on Sunday."