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BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn men's soccer team will take on local rival St. Francis Brooklyn this Sunday, as the two teams face off in the final regular season Northeast Conference game of the year. The Terriers (5-0-1 NEC) and the Blackbirds (4-1-1 NEC), the top two seeds heading into the playoffs, will square off in a must-win game hosted by SFBK that will determine who hosts the 2016 Northeast Conference Championship tournament. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m., Sunday, November 6 at Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 5.
NEC PLAYOFF PICTURE
Three NEC teams have clinched spots in the postseason tournament: the Terriers, the Blackbirds and the Red Flash of Saint Francis U. FDU, Bryant and Sacred Heart are in a third-way tie for fourth place, with six points apiece. With a 5-0-1 record and 16 points, SFBK is currently the top seed and the team to beat. LIU, at 4-1-1 with 13 points, has to beat the Terriers in order to retake the top seed and earn the right to host the tournament. A St. Francis Brooklyn win or a tie between the two teams would give the Terriers the right to host at Brooklyn Bridge Park.
BATTLE OF BROTHERS
Sunday's game will be a hotly contested one for more than just playoff seeding and hosting rights: it will also be a battle for bragging rights around the Barone family dining room table. LIU Brooklyn freshman Giuseppe Barone will be facing off against his older brother, Salvatore Barone, a senior midfield for St. Francis Brooklyn, for the first time in their collegiate careers.
Salvatore Barone is one of SFBK's biggest offensive threats, as he's tied for first on the team with 10 points, scoring four goals and notching two assists this year. Giuseppe Barone has made quite a mark of his own in his freshman season with the Blackbirds. One of the team leaders with 12 points, Barone has score three goals and secured six assists, and has been named the NEC Rookie of the Week three times so far this season. He's currently third in the NEC in total assists.
NEC HONORS
LIU Brooklyn men's soccer sophomore Rasmus Hansen was named the Northeast Conference Men's Soccer Co-Player of the Week, it was announced by the league office Monday afternoon. It was the first Player of the Week honors in Hansen's career, after earning Rookie of the Week honors twice in his freshman season.
Hansen scored both of LIU Brooklyn's goals in a 2-0 win over Fairleigh Dickinson last week. The 2015 NEC Rookie of the Year scored his first marker off a cross from teammate Filip Nordstrom in the 18th minute to give the Blackbirds a 1-0 lead. In the 74th minute, Hansen found the back of the net from 25 yards out on a free kick. The sophomore now leads the league with 11 goals and 29 points on the season for the Blackbirds, who clinched a spot in the NEC Tournament.
LOOKING AT LIU
The Blackbirds bring one of the best offenses in the nation to the table this weekend. LIU is currently in the top five in NCAA Division I soccer in six offensive categories. They are the third ranked scoring offense in the nation, and third in total points scored and points per game. LIU also ranks fourth in assists per game and total goals, as well as fifth in the nation in total assists.
And several members of the Blackbird offense rank nationally in those categories as well. Sophomore Simen Hestnes is fifth in the nation and first in the NEC in assists per game, while his classmate Rasmus Hansen is seventh in the nation in points per game and ninth in the nation in total goals and total points. Junior Naeem Charles and Hestnes help Hansen round out 1-2-3 in the NEC in several other categories as well. The trio take the top three spots in goals per game, points per game, total points, and total points.
SCOUTING THE TERRIERS
Coming up against LIU's potent offense is the best defense in the conference. The Terriers have yet to give up a goal in NEC action this season, and are first in the conference and 13th in the nation with a team goals against average of 0.69. The Terriers are also 19th in the nation in shutout percentage.
Senior keeper Seth Erdman leads the NEC and is 34th in the country, with a .804 save percentage, and is also first in the NEC and top-50 in the country, with a .799 goals against average. Along with Barone, senior forward Yusuf Olajide and junior defender Dominick Falanga are SFBK's top weapons. Olajide leads the Terriers with five goals so far this season, four of which have been game-winners. That's a high for the conference, and also ranks 16th in the nation for game winning goals scored. Falanga has three goals and four assists for 10 points as well.
Last season, LIU beat SFBK twice, in two very close games. In the regular season, the Blackbirds won at home 1-0, to complete the regular season undefeated in the NEC. Five days later, LIU beat the Terriers in the first round of the NEC tournament, winning on penalty kicks, 4-3.
UP NEXT
The Northeast Conference tournament takes place, Friday, November 11 to Sunday, November 13, at a site to be determined.