Blue Devils Play to 1-1 Tie With NEC Foe FDU

The Central Connecticut men's soccer team (6-5-2, 0-3-1) recorded its first point in NEC play Sunday afternoon, playing to a 1-1 tie against Fairleigh Dickinson (7-3-2, 2-0-1) at the CCSU Soccer Field. Junior Eddie Floyd scored the first goal of his career in the second half for the Blue Devils.

CCSU dominated the first half offensively, recording 11 shots to Fairleigh Dickinson's five. The Blue Devils tallied three corner kicks in the first period, while the Knights failed to record one. Central's best opportunity to score in the opening half was with under one minute to play. Floyd found freshman Eduardo Davila Ortiz in the left side of the box, and the midfielder put a shot just wide of the goal.

In the second half, CCSU was the first to get on the scoreboard. Junior forward Hadji Diop received a ball and turned on his defender. He then played a ball behind the defense to junior Persis Oware. Oware attacked the end line with the dribble and crossed it to a streaking Floyd. The midfielder finished it with one touch for the first time in his career. He now has one goal and two assists on the season.

Only ten minutes later, Fairleigh Dickinson countered with a goal of their own. When an errant Central pass fell to the feet of the Knights' leading scorer right outside the penalty box, Samson Malijani took advantage of the opportunity and scored past the outstretched arms of CCSU goalkeeper Paul Armstrong. The score marked Malijani's ninth of the season for FDU.

The two teams played out the rest of the second half evenly and regulation ended in a 1-1 tie. Without a lot of action in the two overtime periods, Central ended today's game in a 1-1 tie with FDU, to record their first point in NEC action this season.

Armstrong finished the day with six saves for the Blue Devils, while Fairleigh Dickinson goalkeeper Majdi Saineh recorded nine for the Knights. CCSU outshot FDU 30-13 for the game and notched 10 corners to Fairleigh Dickinson's five.

Central is now 6-5-2 on the season and will next be playing at Quinnipiac on Sunday October 26 at 3:00 p.m. The Knights are now 7-3-2 and will be hosting St. Francis (PA) on Friday October 24 at 12:00 p.m.