Jordan Alonge blasted three goals to lift FDU past No. 4 seeded Sacred Heart, 3-0, Thursday night in the semifinals of the Northeast Conference men’s soccer tournament.
The Knights, unbeaten in the NEC and the top seed, will seek their 10th NEC title at 1 p.m. Sunday in University Stadium against No. 3 St. Francis Brooklyn, which ousted second-seed Merrimack on penalty kicks after a 2-2 deadlock through two 10-minute overtime periods.
FDU tied Saint Francis Brooklyn 0-0 at the end of the regular season to wrap up the regular season championship and earn a bye into the semifinal round of the league’s postseason. If the Knights win Sunday, they earn the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
FDU’s women’s soccer team won the league championship and will play at No. 3 Virginia Saturday as their match, originally scheduled for Friday, was moved to Saturday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m.
Alonge, a 6-2 senior from London, gave the Knights a 1-0 lead 28 seconds into the second half, and then scored at the 73:20 mark on a second assist from Tony Gomez, a junior forward from Spain. Alonge added the hat-trick and his fourth goal of the season unassisted at 89:10.
FDU goalie Spencer King, voted NEC Goalie of the Year this week, recorded six saves on 13 shots and notched his ninth shutout in 15 starts.
The Knights battled before a student-led crowd of 550 on a crisp and clear fall night on the Teaneck side of the Hackensack River.
Earlier, FDU head coach Seth Roland, in his 26th year coaching the Knights, was voted NEC Coach of the Year and junior Hugo Bacharach was selected NEC Defensive Player of the Year.
Alonge was named first-team all-NEC, while Edoardo Calzola, Gomez and Fallou Tounkara earned slots on the second team. Jaime Barbero was named to the NEC all-Rookie Team.
Photo by Kenneth C Ramirez Castro
FDU’s Edoardo Calzola (right) battles a Sacred Heart player in Thursday’s NEC semifinal match at University Stadium.
