BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn men's soccer team begins its quest for a 2017 Northeast Conference Championship title this Friday, November 10, taking part in the NEC Tournament in Brooklyn, N.Y. The two-day event, hosted by top seed St. Francis Brooklyn, will take place in Brooklyn Bridge Park on Pier 5, and begins when No. 2 seed LIU takes on No. 3 seed Fairleigh Dickinson at 11 a.m. The host Terriers then take on No. 4 seed Robert Morris at 2 p.m.
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
Fairleigh Dickinson enters the match with a 10-4-3 overall record, and 3-2-2 in the NEC. FDU closed out the regular season with a 3-0 win over Sacred Heart that helped them lock up the No.3 seed. Though the Knights lead the all-time series between the two teams, 31-28-5, the last time FDU beat LIU was back in 2013. This year, just two weeks ago, the two teams battled to a 1-1 draw in New Jersey on FDU's senior day.
FDU had one of the best starts in the league in non-conference play, going 5-0-1 in August and early September, earning a regional ranking. They're now 10-4-3, but had a rocky start in NEC action. The Knights lost to Bryant in the first NEC game, and also fell to SFBK right after that. They bounced back to beat SFU in overtime, and Robert Morris on the road, before tying CCSU 1-1.
Offensively, the Knights have a mixture of experience and fresh blood. Redshirt junior forward Ahu Obhakhan is the team's leading scorer, with seven goals and two assists, while freshman forward Jacob Labovitz has seven goals and one assist for FDU so far. Daniel Lasarte and Fredinho Mompremier have four and five goals respectively, with a combined seven assists, while freshman forward Diego Arribas has seven total assists to lead the squad.
In the net, freshman goalie Jahmali Waite has been a huge addition. The Philadelphia, Pa. native currently leads the conference with a .838 save percentage, and is second in the NEC with a 0.79 goals against average.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
No. 1 seed SFBK earned the right to host when they beat LIU 2-1 in overtime last Friday. The Terriers clinched their second straight regular season title, and will be defending the tournament title as well this weekend. No. 4 seed Robert Morris comes into the weekend 3-3-1 in NEC play, with one of their wins coming 1-0 against the Blackbirds earlier this season.
UP NEXT
The league will hand out its annual awards at a banquet prior to the tournament Thursday night. Should the Blackbirds advance to the championship game with a win Friday, they will take on the winner of the second semifinal game, Sunday, November 12 at 1 p.m.