The 2019 Northeast Conference men's soccer season was the 39th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference.
The defending regular-season and tournament champion, LIU Brooklyn, was replaced by the unified LIU athletic program during the 2019 preseason (see below).
With one week left on the season, Merrimack clinched the regular season championship with an 8–0–0 record. Due to their reclassification, they could not compete in the NEC tournament.
Changes from 2018 Merrimack College joined the Northeast Conference from Division II Northeast-10 Conference. They are not eligible this year for the NEC tournament.
On October 3, 2018 Long Island University announced that it would combine its two existing athletic programs—NEC member LIU Brooklyn and the Division II program at LIU Post—into a single Division I program under the LIU name. The new LIU program, named the LIU Sharks, maintains LIU Brooklyn's prior memberships in Division I and the NEC. The unified men's soccer program is now based at the LIU Post campus in the Nassau County community of Brookville, New York.
Teams Team Location Stadium Capacity Head coach Seasons at school Record at schoolBryant Bulldogs Smithfield, Rhode Island Bulldog Stadium Seamus Purcell 22 Central Connecticut Blue Devils New Britain, Connecticut CCSU Soccer Field Shaun Green 34 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights Florham Park, New Jersey FDU Stadium Seth Roland 22 LIU Sharks Brookville, New York LIU Soccer Park Michael Mordocco 1 (LIU Post) 0 (LIU) 14–5–1 (LIU Post) (LIU)Merrimack North Andover, Massachusetts Martone-Mejail Field Tony Martone 38 (Div. II) 0 (Div. I) 392–277–53 (Div. II) (Div. I) Mount St. Mary's Emmitsburg, Maryland Waldron Family Stadium Bryan Cunningham 1 Robert Morris Colonials Moon Township, Pennsylvania North Athletic Complex Bill Denniston 22 Sacred Heart Pioneers Fairfield, Connecticut Campus Field Joe Barroso 14 St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 5 Tom Giovatto 12 Saint Francis Red Flash Loretto, Pennsylvania DeGol Field Frank Olszewski 0
Notes:
All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only, except for LIU. Records for LIU Post included in the LIU listing because Post's final head coach was named head coach of the newly unified LIU program. Years at school does not includes current season. Overall and NEC records are from time at current school and are before the beginning of the season.
Preseason
Rankings LIU, the reigning NEC Champions, were not picked as favorites to this year. This is due to LIU losing six players from last year and the program starting with a new head coach. Saint Francis (PA) finished in second place last year and received the most first place votes. Second was St. Francis Brooklyn, which did not do well last year – missing the playoffs for the first time since 2012, but the Terriers are perennial winners in the NEC, having captured the most championships in conference history. NEC Coaches Poll 1. Saint Francis Red Flash (5) 2. St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers (3) 3. Fairleigh Dickinson Knights 4. Bryant Bulldogs 5. LIU Sharks (2) 6. Robert Morris Colonials 7. Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers 8. Sacred Heat Pioneers 9. Central Connecticut Blue Devils10 Merrimack Warriors
() first place votes
Regular season The biggest upset of the season was accomplished by Fairleigh Dickinson as they defeated #23 UConn on the road 2–1. The largest margin of defeat was 0–7, as Sacred Heart lost to NJIT in their season opener. The largest margin of victory was 6–0, as Merrimack defeated Robert Morris at home. One of the season's best goals made ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 list, a bicycle kick goal by St. Francis Brooklyn Terrier's El Mahdi Youssoufi against Central Connecticut was ranked 7th. With one week left on the season, Merrimack clinched the regular season championship with an 8–0–0 record. Due to their reclassification, they could not compete in the NEC tournament.
Index to colors and formattingNEC member wonNEC member lostNEC member tiedNEC teams in bold Notes: All times Eastern Standard time and national ranking is from United Soccer Coaches (USC) poll.
Week 1 (Aug 26–Sep 1)
Schedule and results: Date Time (ET) Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance August 30 4:00 p.m. Stony Brook St. Francis Brooklyn Brooklyn Bridge Park • Brooklyn, NY W 0–1 0 August 30 4:00 p.m. Oakland Robert Morris North Athletic Complex • Moon Township, PA L 5–1 0 August 30 4:00 p.m. NJIT Sacred Heart Campus Field • Fairfield, CT L 7–0 135 August 30 6:00 p.m. Central Connecticut Seton Hall Owen T. Carroll Field • South Orange, NJ L 0–6 173 August 30 7:00 p.m. Fairleigh Dickinson Bucknell Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium • Lewisburg, PA W 2–1 580 August 30 7:00 p.m. LIU Old Dominion Old Dominion Soccer Complex • Norfolk, VA W 2–1 351 August 30 7:30 p.m. Bryant UC Riverside UC Riverside Soccer Stadium • Riverside, CA L 0–1 136 September 1 1:00 p.m. Winthrop Mount St. Mary's Waldron Family Stadium • Emmitsburg, MD W 3–4 269 September 1 1:00 p.m. Bowling Green Robert Morris North Athletic Complex • Moon Township, PA L 2–0 0 September 1 2:00 p.m. Siena Saint Francis (PA) DeGol Field • Loretto, PA L 4–2 175 September 1 10:00 p.m. Bryant Cal State Fullerton Titan Stadium • Riverside, CA L 1–2 0 NEC weekly awards
Player of the Week Rookie of the Week PlayerPositionTeamPlayerPosition Team Chris Capaldo MF LIU Callum James GK SFBKReference: Northeast Conference
Week 2 (Sep 2–8)
Schedule and results: Date Time (ET) Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance September 2 5:00 p.m. Merrimack Northeastern Parsons Field • Brookline, MA W 2–1 214 September 2 4:00 p.m. Sacred Heart UMass Rudd Field • Amherst, MA L 4–0 305 September 2 7:00 p.m. LIU VCU Sports Backers Stadium • Richmond, VA W 1–0 449 September 3 4:00 p.m. La Salle St. Francis Brooklyn Brooklyn Bridge Park • Brooklyn, NY W 0–3 307 September 3 7:00 p.m. Fairleigh Dickinson Lafayette Oaks Stadium • Easton, PA L 0–1 100 September 4 7:00 p.m. Central Connecticut Rider Ben Cohen Field • Lawrenceville, NJ Cancelled September 4 7:00 p.m. Robert Morris Cleveland State Krenzler Field • Cleveland, OH L 0–4 212 September 6 8:00 p.m. Sacred Heart Quinnipiac Quinnipiac Soccer Stadium • Hamden, CT L 1–2 0 September 6 7:00 p.m. Fairleigh Dickinson No. 23 UConn Morrone Stadium • Mansfield, CT W 2–1 533 September 6 7:00 p.m. Merrimack Georgia Southern Eagle Field • Statesboro, GA Cancelled September 6 7:00 p.m. Mount St. Mary's Bucknell Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium • Lewisburg, PA W 2–1 450 September 6 7:00 p.m. Saint Francis (PA) VCU Sports Backers Stadium • Richmond, VA Cancelled September 7 1:00 p.m. Lafayette St. Francis Brooklyn Brooklyn Bridge Park • Brooklyn, NY T 0–0 2OT 329 September 7 3:00 p.m. Robert Morris La Salle McCarthy Stadium • Philadelphia, PA L 1–3 112 September 7 8:00 p.m. Saint Joseph's LIU Hofstra University Soccer Stadium • Hempstead, NY L 1–0 160 September 8 1:00 p.m. Bryant Siena Hickey Field • Loudonville, NY W 3–2 742 September 8 1:00 p.m. Gonzaga Fairleigh Dickinson FDU Stadium • Teaneck, NJ W 1–3 374 September 8 2:00 p.m. Saint Francis (PA) Old Dominion Old Dominion Soccer Complex • Norfolk, VA W 2–0 212
NEC Weekly Awards
Player of the Week Rookie of the WeekPlayerPositionTeamPlayerPosition Team Diego Arribas FW FDU Felix Tonne FW SFPAReference: Northeast Conference
Week 3 (Sep 9–15)
Date Time (ET) Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance September 9 7:00 p.m. Central Connecticut Army James Clinton Field • West Point, NY Cancelled September 10 3:00 p.m. Mount St. Mary's Howard Greene Stadium • Washington, DC W 1–0 221 September 10 7:00 pm Merrimack Boston University Nickerson Field • Boston, MA W 3–0 200 September 10 7:00 p.m. LIU LaSalle McCarthy Stadium • Philadelphia, PA L 0–1 0 September 11 4:00 p.m. Saint Peter's Sacred Heart Campus Field • Fairfield, CT W 1–2 0 September 12 4:00 p.m. California Baptist Robert Morris North Athletic Complex • Moon Township, PA W 1–2 0 September 13 7:00 p.m. Merrimack Rhode Island URI Soccer Complex • Kingston, RI L 1–2 0 September 14 1:00 p.m. Sacred Heart Providence Chapey Field • Providence, RI L 0–4 630 September 14 2:00 p.m. St. Francis Brooklyn Saint Peter's Joseph J. Jaroschak Field • Jersey City, NJ L 0–1 0 September 14 4:00 p.m. Wright State Saint Francis (PA) DeGol Field • Loretto, PA L 1–0 150 September 14 5:00 p.m. Fairleigh Dickinson Cornell Charles F. Berman Field • Ithaca, NY L 0–1 0 September 14 6:00 p.m. UMass Central Connecticut CCSU Soccer Field • New Britain, CT L 6–0 487 September 14 7:00 p.m. LIU UMBC Retriever Soccer Park • Baltimore, MD L 1–5 1,126 September 14 7:00 p.m. Navy Mount St. Mary's Waldron Family Stadium • Emmitsburg, MD L 1–0 521 September 15 12:00 p.m. Howard Bryant Bulldog Stadium • Smithfield, RI L 3–2 0 September 15 1:00 p.m. Longwood Robert Morris North Athletic Complex • Moon Township, PA L 3–0 0 NEC Weekly Awards
Player of the Week Rookie of the WeekPlayerPositionTeamPlayerPosition Team Jahmali Waite GK FDU Stefano Pesenti MF MCReference: Northeast Conference
Week 4 (Sep 16–22)
Date Time (ET) Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance September 17 3:00 p.m. St. Francis Brooklyn Howard Greene Stadium • Washington, DC W 1–0 97 September 17 3:00 p.m. UMass Bryant Bulldog Stadium • Smithfield, RI W 1–2 0 September 17 4:00 p.m. UMass Lowell Merrimack Martone-Mejail Field • North Andover, MA L 1–0 0 September 17 6:00 p.m. Rhode Island Central Connecticut CCSU Soccer Field • New Britain, CT T 1–12OT 438 September 17 6:00 p.m. Mount St. Mary's Army James Clinton Field • West Point, NY L 0–1 287 September 17 7:00 p.m. NJIT Fairleigh Dickinson FDU Stadium • Teaneck, NJ W 1–2 0 September 18 4:00 p.m. Duquesne Robert Morris North Athletic Complex • Moon Township, PA L 0–2 0 September 18 4:00 p.m. Iona Sacred Heart Campus Field • Fairfield, CT L 2–1 0 September 18 6:00 p.m. Saint Francis (PA) Bucknell Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium • Lewisburg, PA L 0–3 207 September 20 6:00 p.m. Quinnipiac Central Connecticut CCSU Soccer Field • New Britain, CT L 4–1 623 September 21 1:00 p.m. Siena Sacred Heart Campus Field • Fairfield, CT L 3–0 134 September 21 3:00 p.m. LIU Iona Mazzella Field • New Rochelle, NY L 2–3 0 September 21 4:00 p.m. Rider Saint Francis (PA) DeGol Field • Loretto, PA W 0–4 0 September 21 7:00 p.m. Merrimack Vermont Virtue Field • Burlington, VT L 0–3 550 September 21 7:00 p.m. Princeton Fairleigh Dickinson FDU Stadium • Teaneck, NJ L 4–0 338 September 21 7:00 p.m. Mount St. Mary's James Madison Sentara Park • Harrisonburg, VA L 0–3 421 September 21 7:30 p.m. Manhattan St. Francis Brooklyn Poly Prep Soccer Field • Brooklyn, NY W 1–3 0 September 22 1:00 p.m. Brown Bryant Bulldog Stadium • Smithfield, RI W 1–2 0 September 22 1:00 p.m. Howard Robert Morris North Athletic Complex • Moon Township, PA T 1–12OT 0
NEC Weekly Awards
Player of the Week Co-Rookies of the WeekPlayerPositionTeamPlayerPosition Team Alex DaCosta FWBRY Khaled Abdella FWSFBK Papa Ndoye FWLIU Reference: Northeast Conference
Week 5 (Sep 23–29)