The Fairleigh Dickinson men’s soccer team suffered a heartbreaking defeat Friday night in double overtime to Garden State rival Monmouth, 1-0, at University Stadium in Teaneck, NJ.  With the victory, the Hawks improve to 9-3-0 (3-1-0 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 7-3-2 (3-1-1 NEC) overall.

In the first half, both teams battled each other for control.  Halfway through the first 45 minutes, the Hawks ripped a shot from roughly 25 yards out that somehow did not get into the goal as it hit off the bottom of the cross bar and came down right on the goal line, just missing going in.

The Knights also had a couple clean looks at the goal from long range on a pair of hard shots, but both were turned away.

Monmouth outshot FDU, 7-5, in the first half.

In the second half, the Hawks were more on the offensive, but the Knights were able to keep them at bay.  With roughly 23 minutes left in the second half, sophomore #Michael Calderon# received the ball off a free kick and ripped a shot from about 30 yards out that skimmed the top of the crossbar.  It was FDU’s best scoring chance over the final 45 minutes.

With 7:20 remaining in regulation, Monmouth’s Kalle Sotka ripped a shot that hit square on the crossbar and ricocheted to Matt Jeffery in the box.  He then took a shot of the rebound, but sophomore goalkeeper #Jacob Lissek# was able to make the save.

The Hawks outshot the Knights, 12-5, in the second half and held a 19-10 advantage heading into overtime.

FDU had a pair of opportunities to score in the first extra period.  Four minutes into overtime, junior #Jack McVey# took a free kick from about 35 yards out on the left side of the pitch and found fellow classmate and countryman #Antony Moore# on the right side.  However, Moore’s shot went just wide to the right to keep the score tied at zero. 

Approximately three minutes later, McVey took another free kick that landed deep in the box with freshman #Anders Vest-Hansen# getting his head on it, but his shot just missed to the left.

The Knights were able to outshoot the Hawks, 3-2 in the first overtime.

After a two minute break, both teams came out for the final 10 minute period of overtime.  Four minutes in, Monmouth’s Ryan Clark took a corner kick that was cleared out on a header by the Knights.  However, Schmid was able to gain control of the ball outside the box and made a move in heavy traffic and fired a shot to the upper right corner of the net just pass a diving Lissek, who had an obstructive view, to give the Hawks the 1-0 double overtime victory.

For the match, Monmouth outshot FDU, 23-13.  The Hawks were able to fire 10 shots on goal, while the Knights only managed four.

Lissek tied a career high with nine saves, while Alex Blackburn made four en route to his eighth shutout of the season.

The Knights will have a quick turnaround as they host Quinnipiac Sunday evening in a critical NEC matchup.  Kick-off at University Stadium is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.

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