TEANECK, N.J. - Under the clouds from morning rain on the banks of the Hackensack River, the 2022 Northeast Conference Regular Season Champion FDU men's soccer team (10-5-3, 6-0-2 NEC) welcomed #3 St. Francis Brooklyn to University Stadium for the 2022 NEC tournament final - the 15th appearance for the Knights since the tournament began. Following a scoreless battle at the half, FDU pulled through down one with a pair of scores by freshman NEC All-Rookie honoree Jaime Barbero to put the Knights in front 2-1 and secure the team's ninth NEC tournament title and 10th all-time league crown as the side advances to the NCAA Championship for the 19th time in program history, the first since 2019. FDU's 10 NEC championships are the most of any team in conference history.

In the first 45 minutes it was anyone's game as there were just six combined shots between the two sides while FDU had the only three shots-on-target. One of those shots on-goal was a penalty attempt off the boot of NEC Defensive Player of the Year Hugo Bacharach but the rocket was right down the middle and into the hands of Alec McLachlan for the stop.

After the halftime whistle, Seth Roland turned to his bench for the only two reserves he'd bring on in the fixture with the NEC Coach of the Year taking off Kevin Leonhard for Barbero which proved to pay off when the forward from Valencia, Spain scored twice with under 15 minutes to go to punch the Knights' ticket to the NEC automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament. In the even second half, both sides recorded 11 shots a piece.

Barbero - the 2022 NEC tournament MVP - would place his first goal in the low right corner on the second penalty attempt of the game by FDU before a stellar play involving First Team All-NEC honoree Jordan Alonge and Second Team All-NEC recipient Tony Gomez allow Barbero to record a brace, tapping the ball in for what would be the game-winner.

The tally by St. Francis Brooklyn's Jack Pascoe in the 76th minute was the first goal allowed by an NEC opponent by Goalkeeper of the Year Spencer King this season ending an unbelievable streak of over 737 minutes without conceding a goal to a league foe.

Four Knights earned slots on the NEC All-Tournament Team with Barbero joined by Alonge, Gomez and graduate student midfielder Fallou Tounkara who wore the captain's armband for Sunday's final.

"Wow, that was an epic championship game," said Roland. "The Terriers are very well coached and are always a challenging opponent to play against. I'm proud that we battled back from being down a goal late in the game to tie and ultimately win. Our guys showed tremendous character. We were unlucky on a number of opportunities throughout the game, but we didn't allow that to break our spirit. We kept battling and competing until we turned the game in our favor. What an incredible achievement for these guys to go unbeaten in NEC play and 'do the double' of winning the regular season title and tournament championship in the same season for the first time since 2003. They're a talented, competitive and fun group to coach and they've worked very hard to deservedly earn the title of champions."

Sunday's victory also marked the first time FDU won both the regular season and tournament titles in the Northeast Conference since 2003 and with seven regular season crowns and 10 NEC tournament titles the Knights now have 17 pieces of silverware in the trophy case.

FDU learns their matchup in the 48-team NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship on Monday, November 14 at 1 p.m. during the NCAA Selection Show live on NCAA.com. The first round of the 2022 NCAA tournament will be held on November 17. Stay tuned to FDUKnights.com and the Department's social media channels for updated information.

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