Baltimore, MD-The 2002 Northeast Conference finals will be a rematch of last year's title game, as both #1 seed LIU and #3 seed FDU advanced to Sunday's finale at UMBC Soccer Stadium. The top-seeded Blackbirds (11-5-3) cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win over #4 Robert Morris (9-9-2), while the defending champion Knights (8-4-8) advanced via penalty kicks, 3-2, after playing to a 0-0 tied with #2 UMBC (11-6-3).
In the nightcap, UMBC and FDU battled for 110 minutes with neither team being able to dent the net. UMBC had the better of the scoring opportunities, but a Marcus Gross redirect off a corner kick hit the crossbar late in the first half, and Derek McElligott's one-on-one chance was thwarted in the first 25 seconds of the second half by FDU netminder Andrew Nucifora. FDU's best chance came with just over three minutes to play, as Dirceu Hurtado's shot of a cross hit the side of the net.
In penalty kicks, Nucifora got the visitors off to a good start when he made a diving save of McElligott's first attempt. FDU went up 3-2 on conversions by Hurtado, Orce Kozeski, and Mathieu Savaria and prevaield when Alex Wilmot's attempt for UMBC was wide left. The Knights are now 6-0-2 vs. UMBC since the Retrievers joined the NEC and are the only team with a winning record vs. the Retrievers. Last season, FDU defeated LIU, 2-1, in the fourth overtime period to win the league title. The Knights would advance to the NCAA quarter-finals before falling to eventual champion North Carolina, in three overtime periods
