NORTH ANDOVER, M.A.- First-place FDU opened a four-game road trip on Sunday afternoon with a battle against NEC rival Merrimack. The Knights scored first and held on to defeat the Warriors 2-1. The win improved FDU's overall record to 6-2-4 and 3-0-2 in the NEC.
Sunday's victory marks the 15
th straight conference game for FDU without a defeat.
The first-half consisted of fluid, back-and-forth action with both teams generating scoring opportunities. The Knights put three shots on frame in the opening 45, while the Warriors totaled four themselves.
These chances culminated in a goal for the Knights in the 18
th minute. Eugenio Garcia placed a dangerous service off a corner kick that
Tony Gomez was able to get on the end of and sent a strong header towards the goal. The ball ricocheted off the cross bar and found a perfectly positioned
Matt Giraldo, who tapped it in for the game's opening goal. This was Giraldo's second goal of the season, and his second in the last three games. His two goals on the year now match his career-high for a season.
The game continued to open up for both sides. In the 40
th minute, Merrimack's pressure resulted in another threatening scoring chance. This time the Warriors would not be denied. Liam Ziegler received a pass from Johan Feilscher. Ziegler played the ball and was able to beat
Spencer King with a shot to the lower-right corner of the net for his fourth goal of the season. This was the first goal FDU had surrendered in nearly 300-minutes of play.
The teams went to the halftime-break level at 1-1.
FDU wasted no time reestablishing their attack in the second-half. In the 48
th minute, Garcia, yet again, played a dangerous cross into the box. This time
Alberto Herranz headed it past the Merrimack goalkeeper to put his side back in front, 2-1. This was the senior's first goal of 2023 and the fourth of his career as a Knight. Garcia now has three goal-contributions on the year.
The second-half kept both team's keepers busy. FDU fired three shots on frame and the Warriors put up four themselves. In total, FDU outshot Merrimack 13-10.
Merrimack's best equalizing opportunity came in the 69
th minute. After action in FDU's box drew
Spencer King off his line, Merrimack's Juri Schlingmann found the ball with an open net to shoot at. His shot was blocked on the line by a well-positioned Garcia.
Spencer King made his final save of the game in the 74
th minute when he robbed the Warriors of a game-tying goal. He finished with six saves. The 2022 NEC Goalkeeper of the Year now has 59 saves in 2023, which matches his career-high that he set last season.
The win keeps the Knights atop of the NEC table with just three conference-games remaining.
Head coach
Seth Roland stated, "Good win today against a very talented and dangerous Merrimack team. I thought we defended in a focused manner and attacked effectively and dynamically."
What's Next
The Knights will head north again to take on CCSU next Sunday, October 22
nd, at 1 p.m. Fans can watch the game on NEC Front Row.
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