Men's soccer battles FDU Sunday with regular season winding down

Smithfield, R.I. – With the regular season winding down, the Bryant University men's soccer team will take on Fairleigh Dickinson in Teaneck, NJ on Sunday (3:00 pm).

The Bulldogs, who are still unbeaten since Sept. 14 (5-0-3) finished off the weekend with a 1-0-1 matk after an overtime victory vs. LIU Brooklyn on Friday and a tie vs. defending Northeast Conference Champions, St. Francis Brooklyn, on Sunday.

In Friday's contest, the Bulldogs we're led by freshman Thomas Binder (Vienna, Austria) who scored with less than a second left in the first half, his third goal of the season, to give Bryant the 1-0 halftime lead. The Blackbirds answered in the 76th minute with a laser to the top right corner, but the Black and Gold did not go down easy as Brett Larocque (Ottawa, Ont.) and Lucas Guerriero (Pickering, Ont.) combined to set up senior forward Connor Norat (Wilmington, Del.) who finished the job for the Bulldogs in the 96th minute.

On Sunday, the Bulldogs celebrated Senior Day in a rematch of the 2013 NEC Tournament Championship vs. St. Francis Brooklyn –who came into the game 2-1-1 in conference play. After a St. Francis own-goal in the 56th minute, the Bulldogs took the lead 1-0, but the Terriers responded in the 77th minute knotting the game 1-1. Neither team could capitalize on chances in both overtime periods, ending the match in a draw. 

With just two matches remaining on its regular season slate, Bryant currently sits in second play in the NEC standings, one point behind Saint Francis U.

On Sunday, the Bulldogs trek to Teaneck, N.J. to battle Fairleigh Dickinson in just their second road game since Sept. 14. The Knights, who have three matches left on their schedule, enter weekend action with a 3-10-2 overall record, 1-2-1 (tied for fifth) against NEC opponents. Sporting a balanced attack, FDU is ld by senior Nico Wright and sophomore Enver Caymaz, who each enter the weekend with seven points (3g, 1a). Freshman Matthew Weigner has made 13 starts in net for the Knights, posting a 1.70 goals-against average. Last season, the Bulldogs squeaked out a 1-0 victory over FDU in Smithfield with a goal from Larocque in the 54th minute as part of Bryant's late-season run into the NEC Tournament.

For links to Live Stats and streaming video of Sunday's match and all the latest news on the Bryant University men's soccer team, visit BryantBulldogs.com.