BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn men's soccer team will host their last regular season game on LIU Field Saturday afternoon, welcoming Fairleigh Dickinson to downtown Brooklyn, Saturday, November 3 at 1 p.m.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
The Blackbirds, with some help from Robert Morris, clinched the 2018 Northeast Conference regular season championship Friday afternoon, and will be the host of the 2018 NEC Tournament next weekend. LIU (6-1) will be the No. 1 regardless of the outcome of Saturday's contest.
It's the program's first regular season championship since 2015, third under head coach TJ Kostecky, and 16th overall.
Saint Francis U. (5-1-2) is the only other team who has clinched a spot in the postseason tournament, while Robert Morris, FDU, Bryant, St. Francis Brooklyn and Sacred Heart all have shots at the third and fourth spots, depending on how things shake out in the final weekend of play.
Standings NEC Points Overall
1. LIU Brooklyn* 6-1 18 11-4-1
2. Saint Francis U* 5-1-2 17 9-4-3
3. Robert Morris 4-4 12 6-10-1
4. Fairleigh Dickinson 3-2-2 11 6-6-4
Bryant 3-2-2 11 3-8-3
6. St. Francis Brooklyn 3-4 9 6-10
Sacred Heart 3-5 9 4-12-1
8. Mount St. Mary's 1-4-2 5 2-9-4
9. Central Connecticut 1-6 3 1-12-1
* Clinched NEC Tournament berth
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
LIU is currently undefeated at home at 6-0-1, with a +8 goal differential at LIU Field. That will come in handy when the Blackbirds host the NEC Tournament November 9-11.
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
The Knights (6-6-4, 3-2-2 NEC) currently sit tied with Bryant for fourth place in the NEC standings with one game to play. The two teams would battle it out for the final postseason spot, just one point behind Robert Morris, and two ahead of SFBK and Sacred Heart.
While FDU has a 3-2-2 league record, two of their three wins have come against tournament contenders. The Knights are coming off a 5-0 win over Sacred Heart. They also beat RMU in double overtime in October, 1-0, and tied second place SFU 0-0, in two overtimes.
Senior forward Ahu Obhakhan has seven goals and one assist, as the team's leading point scorer, and the second highest scorer in the league. Meanwhile, sophomore goalie Jahmali Waite was the NEC Player of the Week two weeks ago, after posting two NEC shutouts against SFU and RMU. White's four shutouts on the year tie LIU's Sam Ilin for leading the NEC. He is also second the NEC (behind Ilin) with a 0.94 GAA and ranks second with a .778 save percentage.
The Knights lead the all-time rivalry between the two programs, 31-29-5, in matchups that date back to 1955. But FDU hasn't beaten LIU outright since 2013. Last year, the two teams battled to a 1-1 draw in the regular season, before the Blackbirds trounced the Knights, 4-0 in the semifinals of the NEC Tournament in November.
UP NEXT
The Blackbirds host the NEC Championship tournament Friday, November 9 and Sunday, November 11 on LIU Field. Game times and seeding are still to be determined.