By Equinox Staff
FDU begins the post-season at home Sunday at noon against St. Francis in the first round of the Northeast Conference women’s soccer championship tournament.
The Knights (6-10-2, 5-2-2 NEC) finished the regular season as the No. 4 seed while SFU finished fifth.
Sacred Heart (No. 3) will host LIU (No. 6) in the other first-round game that day. Winners will advance to the semifinal round at defending champ and No. 1 Central Connecticut State or No. 2 Merrimack on Thursday, Nov. 3. The highest remaining seed will host the championship on Sunday, Nov. 6. CCSU is looking for a fifth consecutive NEC championship.
In the regular-season finale, FDU fell to Stonehill in North Easton, Mass., in a shootout Thursday.
Lea Egner scored at the 2-minute mark and Aitana Martinez-Montoya netted a penalty shot 19 minutes into the match to give the Knights an early 2-0 advantage only to see the Skyhawks claw back on goals by Hannah Anselmo and Lauren Clement.
Sophomore Martinez-Montoya, all-NEC and rookie of the year last season, scored her 12th goal of the season with 35 seconds to play in the half to give FDU a 3-2 lead.
Scrappy Stonehill (4-13-1, 3-5-1 NEC) rallied to knot the count at 3-3 at the 58-minute mark of the match and got key play from its goalie, Hanna Copley, who finished with five saves on 12 FDU shots on goal in a 24-shot attack.
In the tourney, FDU hosts St. Francis after playing to a 1-1 tie in Loretto, Pa., in the teams’ last match, Sept. 22. The Knights have a lifetime 9-8-4 record against SFU, winning 3-0 the last time here in 2021.
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Women’s soccer home Sunday vs. SFU in NEC Tournament.
