Junior forward Raphael Abreu (New York, N.Y.) scored a goal with six minutes remaining in regulation to break a 1-1 tie and lift the Stony Brook men's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson Sunday evening at LaValle Stadium.

"We're happy to get a win against a good team," head coach Ryan Anatol said. "Today I thought we improved our game. We went down a goal, but we responded. And after we scored the second goal, we learned how to close a game out. We are growing and getting better every day."

After a slow, defensive first half, action picked up in the second half for Stony Brook, as the team got more aggressive with shots. However, it was Fairleigh Dickinson that potted the first goal as Jonathan Gonzalez took possession of the ball in the box off a deflection in the 67th minute and had a point-blank shot on Seawolves goalkeeper Stefan Manz (Bronx, N.Y.). Manz made contact with the ball, but could not make the save as the ball trickled into the net for a goal.

Less than three minutes later, the Seawolves threatened as junior Berian Gobeil Cruz (Montreal, Quebec) stormed down the field with the ball and got into the left corner of the box. He was surrounded by Knights defenders and ultimately was tripped from behind, and the referees called for a penalty shot. Gobeil Cruz then calmly kicked the ball past Knights keeper Jacob Lissek for the equalizer. For his strong offensive play, Gobeil Cruz was named the America East Player of the Game.

Stony Brook continued to play strong defense, allowing only one shot on goal in the second half. The moment of truth came in the 84th minute when Abreu took a pass from junior Leonardo Fernandes (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and struck the ball past a diving Lissek for the goal. It was Abreu's second goal of the season.

Fairleigh Dickinson never threatened to tie as the Seawolves kept the ball away from the Knights offensive zone for the final six minutes.

Manz made five saves in net for the Seawolves, and Lissek stopped four shots for FDU. In total, Stony Brook outshot the Knights 16-14, and the shots on goal were even at 6-6.

Stony Brook will look to end its three-game homestead on a winning note Tuesday as it hosts Fairfield at 7 p.m.

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