The Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer team will be heading back to the Northeast Conference playoffs.  The Knights were in a scenario where they needed a win or a tie to get in.  The latter happened as the Knights tied second-place Sacred Heart, 0-0, in double overtime Saturday night at University Stadium in Teaneck. Fairleigh Dickinson has now made the NEC playoffs for an unprecedented 12th time over the last 14 years, all under Head Coach Seth Roland.  The Knights conclude the regular season with a record of 9-6-2 (5-3-2 NEC), including 4-0-2 over their final six games.  Sacred Heart finishes the regular season with a record of 11-5-2 (6-2-2 NEC).

Before the start of the game, seven seniors were honored with a ceremony on Senior Night.  Marco Ciklic (Booton, NJ), Majdi Zaineh (Clifton, NJ/Clifton), Kenley Mathurin (Delray Beach, FL/Atlantic), Pedro Vilar (Rahway, NJ/Rahway), Kyle Saviano (Monmouth Junction, NJ/South Brunswick), Dan Rasolio (Clark, NJ/Union Catholic Regional) and Samson Malijani (Lusaka, Zambia/La Sapienza) all were recognized before their final home and regular season game in a Knight uniform.

In first-half action, both teams played evenly as neither side could gain a true advantage.   Each team had four shots and three corner kicks.

In the second half, Sacred Heart was able to pressure the Knights' defense as they were more aggressive on offense.   Freshman goalkeeper Jacob Lissek (Highlands Ranch, CO/Rock Canyon) made a tremendous save to his right on a low, hard shot from close range in the box right at the 60th minute.  His effort paid big dividends for the Knights.

The Pioneers outshot the Knights, 12-7, in the second half.

The first overtime played out like the first 90 minutes where neither team really took control of the game.  Each team had two shots.

The Knights entered the second overtime knowing they needed a tie to clinch the last playoff spot for the NEC Tournament.  The Pioneers were able to help them accomplish this as they went into an unusual stall for the final 3:30 the second overtime to allow the game to end in a 0-0 tie.

For the game, the Pioneers outshot the Knights, 18-14.  Freshman Michael Calderon (San Jose, Costa Rica/CEI) and sophomore Dominic Reinold (Wesseling, Germany/Gesamtschule Rodenkirchen) each had two shots on goal for the Knights.

Lissek made four saves between the posts for the Knights, while Tyler Locatell made seven for Sacred Heart.  The Pioneers were also credited with a team save.

"I am very proud of the guys for making the conference playoffs after three weeks ago being 1-3-1 and sitting in 10th place in the conference," said Roland.  "These guys have shown tremendous heart and focus to go 4-0-2 in our last six games.  Right now we are excited to extend our season and are looking forward to the NEC semifinals on Friday."

The Knights will play top-seeded and nationally-ranked Monmouth, who is currently ranked 11th in the latest NSCAA/HendrickCars.com National Top-25 Poll, on Friday, November 12.  Because Monmouth won the regular season crown, they will host the four-team playoff in West Long Branch, NJ.  Time for the game has not been determined.  Sacred Heart and St. Francis (PA) will play in the other semifinal.  Monmouth defeated the Knights, 4-0, back on October 8 in West Long Branch.  The Knights will also be looking to avenge a 1-0 defeat by their Garden State and NEC rival during last year's NEC semifinal.