BROOKVILLE, N.Y. — The LIU men's soccer team punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons on Sunday.

NEC Player of the Year Emil Jaaskelainen scored on a header off a corner from NEC Tournament MVP Alan Martinez and the second-seeded LIU men's soccer team defeated fourth-seeded Sacred Heart, 1-0, in the conference championship match at LIU Soccer Park.

LIU earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Sharks will learn their assignment during the selection show on Monday at 1 p.m.

Two years ago, LIU knocked off host Maryland in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Ben Assane Fall's goal in the 89th minute.

"We're confident," Jaaskelainen said. "We've got a lot of good players this year. We've got guys who can come on and change a game. We know we can compete with the best colleges around. We're looking forward to it. We're excited. We're not nervous. We've got nothing to lose. We've just got to go all out and hopefully can get a result."

On Sunday, Jaaskelainen's header in the 39th minute off Martinez's corner proved the lone goal.

"Set pieces win you championships," coach Michael Mordocco said. "We worked really hard on them. And we delivered today."

Goalkeeper Eoin Gawronski made a pair of saves in the shutout — including one on a free kick in the final seconds, after which the rebound seemed to hit the post ... or possibly Gawronski.

Asked about how the ball stayed out of the goal, Gawronski said with a laugh: "I don't know. I just laid there."

Martinez, Gawronski, Jaaskelainen and André Puente were named to the all-tournament team.

"This," said Gawronski, a grad transfer from Temple, "is why I came here."