NEC CHAMPIONSHIP HEADQUARTERS
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn men's soccer team hosts the 2018 Northeast Conference championship tournament this weekend on LIU Field, as the regular season champions and the tournament's top seed. The Blackbirds (11-5-1, 6-2 NEC) will open the tournament weekend taking on No.4 seed FDU at 2 p.m. Friday, November 9. The first matchup of the day features No. 2 seed Saint Francis U. taking on No. 3 seed Bryant at 11 a.m. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday, November 11 at 1 p.m.
TICKETS
Tickets will be available the day of the event at the host site. Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 from senior citizens and children between the ages of 11-18. Children under the age of 11 and NEC students with an institutional I.D. will be admitted free.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
No. 4 Fairleigh Dickinson
LIU will take on FDU in the NEC semifinals for the second year in a row. In 2017, the two teams faced off in the first game of the day, with the Blackbirds taking a dominating 4-0 win to advance to the championship game.
FDU clinched its spot in the playoffs with their 2-0 win over the Blackbirds last week. With LIU resting some of their starters, the Knights were able to get the win, and improve to 7-6-4 overall this season, and 4-2-2 in the NEC. It was the first outright win for FDU over LIU since 2013.
The Knights lead the all-time rivalry between the two programs, 32-29-5, in matchups that date back to 1955.
Senior forward Ahu Obhakhan has eight 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. And last week, he made four saves to shut out LIU as well. White's five shutouts on the year tie for leading the NEC. He leads the NEC with a 0.88 GAA, and ranks second with a .791 save percentage.
No. 3 Bryant
The Bulldogs will be making their first NEC tournament appearance in some time this weekend, after closing out the regular season with a 1-0 win over CCSU to earn one of the last two spots in the tournament field. Bryant finished the season 4-2-2 in the NEC, and 4-8-3 overall.
Thanks to a goal in the 82nd minute from Marius Koss, LIU beat the Bulldogs 1-0 earlier this season. Their lone other NEC loss this season was a 1-0 decision at the hands of defending NEC champions St. Francis Brooklyn. They've also drawn with Saint Francis U., and beaten both RMU and FDU.
LIU holds the all time advantage in the young rivalry, 6-3-2 in the last ten years. The Blackbirds have won their meetings with Bryant for the last four years straight, including a 1-0 win last year. The Bulldogs are led by freshman phenom Ben Williams, who's scored a team-high four goals, along with two assists.
No. 2 Saint Francis U.
The second-seeded Red Flash were a threat to host the NEC tournament up until the last weekend of the year, when they suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of local rival Robert Morris. The loss moved SFU to 5-1-2 in the league, and 9-4-3 overall. Saint Francis was the first NEC team to beat the Blackbirds this season, snapping LIU's win streak. SFU's Lucas Canieu would score the game-winning goal with just two seconds left on the clock, stunning the Blackbirds.
The Red Flash's two ties both came to the other two tournament teams, 0-0 results against both Bryant and FDU.
SFU has the highest-scoring offense in the league, just ahead of LIU, with 28 goals so far this season. Senior forward Mario Mastrangelo, a first-team All-NEC honoree last year, leads the league and his team in points, with nine goals and six assists. And the SFU goal keeping staff has combined for six shutouts this season. They are led by freshman keeper Alex Morgret, who has tallied the third best goals-against average in the league, and who has been in net for 13 of the team's 14 games.
SFU holds the all-time edge against the Blackbirds, 12-20-1 but LIU beat them last year, 2-1. For the last six years, the LIU and SFU matchup has been determined by just one goal.
UP NEXT
The 2018 NEC Championship game will take place on LIU Field, Sunday, November 11. Game time is slated for 1 p.m.