TEANECK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer team fell just short to Saint Francis U, 2-1, on Friday night at University Stadium in the Northeast Conference opener for both schools. With the victory, the Red Flash improve to 7-4-1 (1-0-0 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 2-8-1 (0-1-0 NEC) overall.

 

The difference in the contest came in the 83rd minute with the score deadlocked at 1-1. The visitor's Pablo Medina received the ball about 40 yards out and sent a pass that split two FDU defenders to Ryan Byers at the top of the box. Knights' goalkeeper Matthew Weigner (Warrington, Pa/Central Bucks South) charged near the top of the 18 yard line to challenge Byers, who went around Weigner to the left and found the back of the net for the game winner.

 

FDU was able to tie the match at 1-1 in 63rd minute when junior Sam Durkot (Centereach, N.Y./Newfield) navigated a pass from the left side through the SFU defense just outside the 18 yard line to fellow classmate Christian Dietrich (Berlin, Germany/Flatow-Oberschule), who corralled the ball with his right foot and then sent a laser with his left foot to the upper-right corner of the net for the equalizer and his second goal of the season.

 

Nearly four minutes before, Dietrich ripped a shot that was destined to the same part of the goal, but Red Flash goalkeeper Andrew Garcia made an incredible save with his fingertips to send the ball over the crossbar.

 

Over the first 30 minutes of play, SFU dominated possession and took a 1-0 lead when Byers pivoted in the middle of the box to find Conner Rezende near the edge of the six yard line. Rezende then took a shot that found the lower-left corner of the goal.

 

After a pair of FDU substitutions in the 30th minute, the Knights found some offensive rhythm and manufactured four shots over the final 15 minutes of the opening half.

 

"I thought that after the 30th minute we played very, very well," Head Coach Seth Roland said. "We turned the momentum of the game our way for the next 60 minutes and were unlucky not to win. I feel hopeful that if we can keep making strides forward like we did today that we can start winning these critical NEC games, and it must start versus Robert Morris."

 

Overall, FDU held a 13-12 advantage in shots, including a 7-5 edge in the second half. Three of the Knights' chances were on goal, with two from Dietrich and one from senior Miguel Escobar (Medellin, Columbia/The Columbus School). The Red Flash finished with six shots on goal.

 

Weigner made four saves between the pipes for FDU, while Garcia ended the match with two.

 

The Knights will have a quick turnaround before hosting Robert Morris on Sunday, Oct. 14 at 2:15 p.m. in NEC action. The Colonials fell in double overtime on Friday at Bryant, 1-0.