BOX SCORE WEST HAVEN, Conn. (Nov. 11, 2012) – As was the trend all weekend long in the Northeast Conference men's soccer tournament, Sunday's championship match concluded with penalty kicks and Fairleigh Dickinson edged Saint Francis 6-5 to claim the NEC title and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

“I am so proud of our team today,” head coach Michael Casper said. “They played their hearts out and gave everything they had and as a coach that is all I can ask for. I am so appreciative of all the support we received from parents, family, friends and alumni. We wanted to win this for all of you.”

In order to make it to the penalty kick round to determine a winner, these two teams played through a 1-1 draw after 110 minutes of action. Both of the games goals were tallied in the first half. No. 2 seeded FDU (9-5-6) struck first in the match nearly 10 minutes in off a set piece that was headed into the back of the net. As the minutes ticked away in period one, SFU (6-7-7) found the equalizer. Nick Kolarac (Pittsburgh, Pa./West Allegheny) sent a corner kick directly to the head of senior James Price (Christchurch, New Zealand/St. Andrew’s College) who sent his shot far post to tie the game at one.

Shortly out of the halftime break the Knights came up with a solid chance again off of a corner kick but FDU's Jeffrey Barrenchea was denied on a save by Daniel Valcicak (Herndon, Va./Gonzaga College). Valcicak finished the game with three saves.

Perhaps the best chance to win the game outright for the Red Flash came with just under three minutes remaining in the second overtime. SFU drew a foul to set up a corner kick to be taken by Kolarac. From Kolarac's delievery Ryan Byers (Scottdale, Pa./Southmoreland) launched a shot in front of the net that ricocheted off the crossbar. The rebound then came to the foot of Price whose shot sailed just high and landed out of danger.

With the score even at 1-1 after 110 minutes, the Flash and Knights were sent into a winner-take-all penalty kick format, best-of-five. After the first five rounds, each team had one miss which sent the game into sudden death/victory PKs. FDU and SFU both converted on shots in round six but in round seven a make by the Knights and a stop by FDU keeper Jacob Lissek on the final Red Flash shooter secured the NEC title for Fairleigh Dickinson.

“I want to say thank you to the guys for an unbelievable journey this year and especially to the seniors who have contributed so much to this program,” Casper said. “I love each and every one of you and will miss you so much. Lastly I want to wish FDU and their coaching staff congratulations. They have a nice team and I believe they will represent the NEC very well in the NCAA tournament.”

Seniors Daniel Valcicak (Herndon, Va./Gonzaga College) and James Price (Christchurch, New Zealand/St. Andrew’s College), along with sophomore Ryan Byers (Scottdale, Pa./Southmoreland) earned spots on the all-tournament team for their efforts over the weekend.