WASHINGTON, D.C. – The #3 FDU Knights were denied of their third NEC Championship in program history by #1 Howard on Sunday afternoon. The championship match ended 2-1 in favor of the Bison. Howard earns their first NEC title and secures the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
"I felt we did everything we could today," said head coach
Eric Teepe. "We just did not finish some of our opportunities, and credit to Howard who did. I am proud of the team. It's just unfortunate and tough to take…falling short."
FDU controlled possession in the first half but were unable to convert in their attacking third. This came back to hurt the Knights in the 43
rd minute when Howard's Samantha James delivered the game's opening goal.
Howard led 1-0 at the break.
In the second half, FDU found their equalizer.
Marina Burzaco connected on a strike to beat the Howard keeper. This leveled the match in the 52
nd minute. She finishes her impressive rookie campaign with five goals, two of which came in the NEC tournament.
Unfortunately, Howard's Kyra Bolden scored what would prove to be the game-winning goal just seconds later. FDU was unable to recover from this blow.
The Knights finish their season with a record of 8-6-6.
