The third seeded Bobcats men’s soccer team is in West Long Branch, N.J. taking on the second seeded Fairleigh Dickinson Knights in the semifinal match of the NEC tournament. The winner of this match will host the fourth seeded Mount Saint Mary Mountaineers on Sunday for the NEC final.

Earlier today, the Mountaineers defeated the top-seeded host Monmouth Hawks 0-0 (3-2 in penalty kicks).

In the 14th minute of the game, Knight junior defender Serge Zulu passed the ball in to the box to junior forward Samson Malijani who turned and shot it into the upper 90 for the score.

At halftime, the Knights are defeating the Bobcats by a score of 1-0. The Knights are outshooting the Bobcats, ten shots to six. They also have more shots on goal than the Bobcats, four to three. The Bobcats are out-fouling the Knights, eight to seven.

With 20 minutes left in the game, the score is still 1-0 Knights. Earlier this season, the Knights travelled to Quinnipiac and won the game by a score of 2-0. It is possible that there could be a repeat of that today.

With just over 10 minutes left, the Knights scored again. Senior midfielder Jermaine Hardy ripped a shot from the top of the box. The shot deflected off a Bobcat defender and got past Bobcat goalkeeper Freddie Hall. 2-0 Knights.

As time expires, the Knights run away with another victory over the Bobcats, again by a score of 2-0.

The Bobcats will head back to Quinnipiac with a season record of 10-5-4. The Knights improve to 12-5-2 and will take on the fourth seeded Mountaineers on Sunday for the NEC Championship.

Even though the Bobcats lost and their season, they have received good news in the past two days.

Senior forward Graciano Brito received the NEC Player of the Year Honors for the second consecutive year. He led the NEC in goals, goals per game, points and points per game.

Juniors defender Shane Recklet, midfielder Fabricio Silva, and goalkeeper Freddy Hall were also honored by the NEC. All three players were named to the All-NEC Second Team.

Make sure to read the Chronicle next Wednesday to get the full story!