November 11, 2011
REACHING THE FINAL
FDU men break Sacred Heart in NEC semis

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson men advanced to their first Northeast Conference championship match since 2008 with a 1-0 victory over top-seeded Sacred Heart at Lessing Field on the campus of Fairfield University on Friday afternoon.

The Knights improved to 11-4-4, while the Pioneers fell to 10-5-4.

Junior Antony Moore scored the only goal in the 56th minute on a header from sophomore Nicholas Walker.

“It is great to be playing in Sunday’s championship game after a very good win against an outstanding opponent,” FDU coach Seth Roland said. “The guys competed very well today and deserve to be playing for the championship trophy.”

The fourth-seeded Knights and the Pioneers had to deal with a strong west wind that gusted to nearly 50 mph at times. Sacred Heart had the wind at its back in the first half.

FDU junior Jack McVey’s corner kick found Walker in the middle of the penalty area. Walker headed it back to Moore, who headed it in into the right corner of the net past first team all-conference goalkeeper Adam Fait.for his fourth goal of the season.

The Knights will take on the winner of the Central Connecticut State-Monmouth game, which was scheduled for Friday afternoon. The NEC championship game will be played at 1 p.m. on Sunday with the winner earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I men's Tournament.