BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – The Long Island University men's soccer begins its final push for a Northeast Conference tournament berth this weekend for two matches on Friday, Oct. 25 and Sunday, Oct. 27.
The Sharks will travel to New Britain, Conn. to take on a winless Central Connecticut State University squad before hosting Bryant University at LIU Soccer Park on Sunday in a matchup with potential tiebreaker implications.
SCOUTING THE SHARKS (5-6-1, 2-1-1 NEC)
Freshman
Demetri Skoumbakis posted his first career shutout and sophomore
Xavier Verdu scored his first career goal during a 1-0 victory against Fairleigh Dickinson University in the team's only matchup last week. The Sharks picked up three points with the win, bringing them within two points of fourth place for the final playoff berth.
The Sharks currently have seven points in the NEC standings, with Bryant and Saint Francis College Brooklyn tied for third place with nine points. The matchup with the Bulldogs could prove to be huge down the line as both sides have five total matches remaining on the schedule over the next three weekends.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS (0-11-1, 0-6-0 NEC)
CCSU enters the match averaging 0.75 goals per game, while giving up 3.75 goals. The Blue Devils have been outshot 204-102 and outscored by a 45-9 margin on the year.
Despite the struggles, CCSU held off a tough Rhode Island attach on Sept. 17 to earn a 1-1 draw. Eddie Yepes is the long Blue Devil to score multiple goals this year, leading the team with five tallies and three assists for 13 points.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS (6-5-0, 3-2-0 NEC)
Bryant currently sits in third place in the NEC standings with nine points and a 3-2 overall record.
Alex DaCosta has had a standout season for the Black and Gold thus far, leading the NEC in assists per game (0.56), goals per game (0.67), game-winning goals (3), and points per game (1.89). DaCosta also ranks 20th, 30th, 24th, and 15th in each category in all of Division I.
Despite the strong start, Bryant enters the weekend having dropped its previous two matches. The Bulldogs suffered a 3-0 loss on the road at Saint Francis (Pa.) before falling by a 3-1 final at Saint Francis Brooklyn.
LIVE COVERAGE
Live coverage links are located at the top of this page. Live stats will be provided on CCSUBlueDevils.com and LIUAthletics.com, while the matches will be streamed on NEC Front Row. Fans can catch the match online at NECFrontRow.com, or by downloading the NEC On the Go app on all streaming and mobile devices.
