NEWARK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer team opens their fall 2021 campaign on Thursday, August 26, with a non-conference matchup at North Jersey foe NJIT live on ESPN3 at 7:30 p.m.
Game Info
FDU (0-0-0) at NJIT (0-0-0)
Thursday, August 26 at 7:30 p.m. -- Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium
Coverage: ESPN3 | Live Stats
In-Game Updates: @FDUKnightsMSOC
NJIT Spectator Policy
All-Time Series
FDU leads 8-4-3
Streak...W1
First Meeting...1954 (FDU 3, NJIT 2)
Last Meeting...9/17/19 (FDU 2, NJIT 1)
Scouting the Highlanders
NJIT enters their season opener in the Highlanders' second season in the America East Conference, playing in the fall for the first time in their new conference. The Highlanders return the 2021 America East Striker of the Year Regsan Watkins and the 2019 ASUN Conference Goalkeeper of the Year in Samuel Reisgys. Having finished the 2020-21 fall-to-spring campaign, the Highlanders were selected third in the America East Fall Preseason Coaches Poll.
Scouting the Knights
FDU will look to start the season off strong having last played in the spring, 143 days from Thursday. The Burgundy and Blue finished the fall-to-spring 2020-21 slate with a 2-5-1 overall mark and a 2-3-1 record in the Northeast Conference, good for a sixth-place finish. Three Knights garnered NEC postseason honors with senior Ideal Shefqeti and sophomore Hugo Bacharach earning First Team All-NEC recognition and sophomore Jeremy Opong was named to the Second Team. Bacharach and Opong were also named to the All-Rookie Team. In the fall 2021 NEC preseason coaches blue, Seth Roland's Knights were selected tied for fourth with Merrimack.
Coach Roland's Thoughts
"I'm very excited to get the season started at NJIT. They'll present a difficult challenge for us as they're a team that is both dangerous in attack and balanced defensively. It will be exciting to see how we measure up."
What's Next
After the trip to Brick City, the Knights return to action on Monday, August 30, at Army in West Point, N.Y. with kickoff scheduled for 5 p.m. live on ESPN+.
The 2021 men's soccer season is presented by Bogota Savings Bank.
