The Fairleigh Dickinson men’s soccer team dropped a difficult 2-1 overtime decision Tuesday afternoon to Central Connecticut State at University Stadium in Teaneck, NJ.  With the victory, the Blue Devils improve to 9-8-0 (6-3-0 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 9-4-3 (5-2-2 NEC) overall.

The Knights took a quick 1-0 lead in the fifth minute when the CCSU defense had a breakdown that resulted in freshman #Nico Wright# going one-on-one with Blue Devils’ goalie Anthony Occhialini.  Wright’s first shot was saved, but he was able to get the rebound and buried the shot for the first goal of his career.

FDU had a golden opportunity to extend its lead with roughly three minutes remaining in the first half when sophomore #Liam Cahill# ripped a clean look from short range that went over the crossbar.

Over the first 45 minutes, each team fired five shots.

In the second half, CCSU was able to put more pressure on the Knights.  With less than 10 minutes to go, the visitor’s Reece Davis fired a shot that FDU goalkeeper #Jacob Lissek# made a great save on that resulted in a rebound.  Eddy Bogle of CCSU had a clean look off the save, but his shot was ripped into the side of the net which allowed the Knights to dodge a major bullet.

However, FDU’s lead vanished in the 84^th minute when Wilson created a scoring opportunity in the right side of the box as he fired a low shot passed a diving Lissek into the lower-left corner of the net to tie the game at one.

The Blue Devils outshot the Knights, 10-2, in the second half.

In overtime, the Knights had one good scoring chance that came up empty off a corner kick.  The Blue Devils came through in their lone scoring chance in the 96^th minute as Wilson gave a pass to Thomas Obasi who dribbled the ball in the right side of the box.  He then ripped a shot on the ground by Lissek for the game-winner.

For the match, the Knights were outshot, 16-7, but five shots were on goal.  Lissek made seven saves between the pipes, while Occhialini turned away four shots.

“It was a tough, hard-fought NEC battle,” Head Coach #Seth Roland# said.  “We need to do a better job managing our leads, but credit CCSU for competing hard and finding a way to win the match.  Now we have to bounce back and get ready for a big contest at LIU on Saturday.”

The Knights, who started the day one point behind first-place Monmouth, fall into third place after the loss.  Monmouth and CCSU are now tied for first place with 18 points.  FDU plays its regular season finale this Saturday, Nov. 5, at Long Island at 3:00 p.m. in Brooklyn, NY.  A victory would clinch a playoff spot for the Knights.

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