BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – It was an exciting afternoon for the Long Island University men's soccer team as the Sharks dominated St. Francis Brooklyn for a 3-0 victory to clinch the No. 2 overall seed for the Northeast Conference Championship on Sunday, Nov. 10 at the LIU Soccer Park.
 
LIU honored its senior class prior to the contest, saluting Athanasios Coutroumpas, Matias Pesallaccia, Stefan Faistenauer, and Kyle Parish.
 
The Blue and Gold held momentum throughout the contest, outshooting the Terriers 15-8 and held a 9-5 edge in shots on goal. Pesallaccia made five saves to earn the shutout victory in his return to goal, earning his fifth victory of the season.
 
The Sharks took the lead midway through the first half when Parrish launched a throw-in towards the six-yard box and sophomore Fridtjof Andberg headed the ball through traffic and into the far side of the goal for his first goal in an LIU uniform during the 29th minute. Just over one minute into the second half, LIU extended its lead when freshman Selcuk Kahveci cut back inside the penalty area and found sophomore Xavier Verdu who buried an off-balance shot to put the Sharks ahead, 2-0.
 
LIU put the match out of reach for good during the 60th minute when junior Jonas Dovland scored his second goal of the season, dribbling past a defender and ripping home a shot from the right side of the penalty area to give the Sharks the 3-0 lead.
 
Despite the victory, LIU was unable to overtake Saint Francis University (Pa.) for the No. 1 overall seed in next weekend's championship. The Red Flash defeated Robert Morris University by a 3-0 margin this afternoon to claim the top seed and will host the semifinals and finals of the NEC tournament.
 
The Sharks will battle No. 3 seed Bryant University in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 15 at the Stokes Soccerplex. A full tournament preview, along with game times and coverage links, will be available at LIUAthletics.com later this week.