WASHINGTON, D.C. - FDU men's soccer (8-5-3, 6-0-2 NEC) defeated Northeast Conference associate member Howard 2-1 Sunday in our nation's capital to cement a historic regular season campaign for the Knights who went unbeaten in NEC play for the first time in program history. The win against the Bison also marked the 350th career victory for head coach Seth Roland, now in his 26th season on the Hackensack.

The 2022 NEC Regular Season Champions now await their matchup in the 2022 NEC Championship semifinal where the Knights will face the lowest remaining seed after the opening round of the six-team tournament on Thursday, November 10 at 7 p.m. live on NEC Front Row from University Stadium in Teaneck.
 

Inside the Box Score

• Sophomore midfielder Damian Naumoski began the attack for either side in the 7' with a shot-on-target towards the center of the goal, though it was stopped by the Howard back line for a team save.
• The next two attempts from a member of the Burgundy and Blue would come off the boot of senior Jordan Alonge. Alonge's first attempt was wide right of the goal, though he'd place the second one in the bottom center with the Bison's JR Gawell making the save, his second of the match.
• Freshman forward Jaime Barbero came off the bench in the 28' and got to work up top, scoring his third career goal in his 15th game as a Knight in the 32', assisted by graduate student captain Fallou Tounkara - the first assist of the season for the Senegal-born midfielder.
• Tounkara would strike with his third goal of the campaign (all three in NEC play) in the following minute off passes from Jerónimo Leguizamón and Jayd Hamdaoua to put FDU up 2-0 with just under 12 minutes to play in the first half. Tounkara's game-winner was his second of the season.
• Coming on as a reserve for 34 minutes of action, Leguizamòn tied the team-high for shots-on-goal in a single match with three of his five attempts on-target.
• Howard would cut the lead to one in the 53' with a goal from Mason Christian.
• Graduate student forward Joshua Ferreira was sent to the penalty spot in the 66' after a foul in the box was called. Ferreira missed the attempt, however the Knights' 2-1 lead was still in-tact.

 

Quotable

"I'm proud of the guys for making history today by securing an unbeaten NEC season," said Roland. "It's not an easy thing to do. Howard definitely made us work for it and I'm glad we were able to gut-out the win. The guys have earned the right to take a moment to reflect and feel good about the accomplishment, and then we will focus and prepare for our NEC semifinal on Thursday, November 10th."
 

Looking Ahead

The 2022 Northeast Conference Men's Soccer Championship begins on Sunday, November 6 with the opening round pitting the #3 seed against #6 and #4 against #5 with each matchup taking place at the higher seed. FDU will face the lowest-remaining seeded team in the semifinal on Thursday, November 10 at 7 p.m. live on NEC Front Row from University Stadium as the Knights hunt for the 10th league championship in program history. Click here for NEC Championship Headquarters.

Connect with FDU men's soccer on Twitter and Instagram, @FDUKnightsMSOC.