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The top two seeds held serve in an exciting semifinal round at the 2015 NEC Men's Soccer Championships at LIU Field in Brooklyn. Second-seeded Saint Francis U used a bending free kick from All-American Francis de Vries to defeat Robert Morris, 2-1, in game one, while top-seeded LIU Brooklyn slipped past two-time defending champion St. Francis Brooklyn in PKs (4-3) after the two teams played to a 1-1 deadlock.  LIU and SFU will meet on Sunday at noon.  The Blackbirds will be looking for their first NEC title since 2004, while the Red Flash hope to secure the program's first NEC crown.

#2 Saint Francis U 2, #3 Robert Morris 1
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Brooklyn, NY -- Second-seeded Saint Francis U advanced to its second straight NEC men's soccer final and third in the last four years on Friday, defeating western Pennsylvania rival and third-seeded Robert Morris, 2-1, in Brooklyn, NY.  The tournament is being held on the campus of regular season champion LIU Brooklyn.

SFU controlled play for much of the first half, and broke early on a penalty kick just nine minutes into the game. Conner Rezende (Davie, Fla./University School of Nova Southeastern) placed the ball into the lower left corner to give the Red Flash the early lead.
 
With time winding down in the first half, the Red Flash drew a free kick about 25 yards out. NEC Defensive Player of the Year Francis de Vries (Christchurch, New Zealand/Cashmere) bent the ball perfectly into the upper 90 for his sixth goal of the season to give SFU a 2-0 edge heading into halftime.
 
In the 70th minute, Robert Morris earned a penalty kick and three-time NEC Player of the Year Neco Brett (Kingston, Jamaica/Excelsior) calmly deposited the ball into the back of the net for his league-leading 13th goal of the season.
 
Saint Francis U’s Andres Vega (Managua, Nicaragua/Colegio Centro America) looked to give the Red Flash an insurance goal in the 83rd minute on a point blank chance, but Robert Morris goalkeeper Brenden Alfery (Cheswick, PA/Central Catholic) stepped up to make one of his six saves in the game, then rose to the occasion once again with three minutes to play when Troye Kiernan (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) made his way into the box but was stopped by a diving Alfery.
 
The Colonials had one final opportunity in the last minute of play after drawing a free kick on the edge of the box. Lucas Puntillo's (Woodbridge, Ontario/Father Bressani Catholic) sent a searing shot past the wall, but just missed wide to the right.
 
Overall, Saint Francis U held a 19-10 advantage in shots. Rojas turned away two shots for the Red Flash and Alfery stopped six shots for the Colonials.
 
Saint Francis U will play LIU Brooklyn at noon on Sunday afternoon at LIU Field.

#1 LIU Brooklyn 1, #4 St. Francis Brooklyn 1 (LIU advances, 4-3, in PKs)
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Brooklyn, NY -- Following a perfect 7-0 regular season, top-seeded LIU Brooklyn needed to get past two-time defending St. Francis Brooklyn to give the Blackbirds a chance at their first NEC title since 2004.  The two neighborhood rivals battled evenly for 110 minutes before LIU was able to slip past the Terriers in PKs, 4-3, to set up a showdown with second-seeded Saint Francis U at noon on Sunday at LIU Field.

It was a fast start as St. Francis Brooklyn took an early lead in the 6th minute when a free kick found its way into the box and was headed in by Adrian Cosovic (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville).
 
Just fourteen minutes later, LIU Brooklyn would tie the game up on a free kick. Naeem Charles (Trinidad and Tobago/Westinghouse) took the left-footed free kick and bent it around the wall into the lower left corner of the net for his third goal of the season.
 
In the 57^th minute, SFBK's John Makaya (Montepllier, France/University of Montpelier) had a golden chance inside the box, but was stopped by a diving Logan Keys (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) to preserve the 1-1 tie. Just a minute later, the Blackbirds would also threaten when NEC Rookie of the Year Rasmus Hansen's (Greve, Denmark/Brondby Gymnasium) free kick was stopped by Terriers’ goalkeeper Jack Binks (Darlington, England/Siena).
 
After no further scoring in regulation, St. Francis Brooklyn’s Vincent Bezecourt (Aires ur I’Adour, France/Lycee Fernand Daguin) had the best chance in the first overtime on a free kick at the top of the box, but his shot went just over the crossbar.
 
Two minutes into the second overtime session, the Terriers almost ended the game when Cosovic deflected a cross into the box that sailed just over the crossbar. With a minute left, Hansen sent a bullet to the net that was stopped by Binks.
 
Keys made two saves in the shootout to put LIU in a position to win in the fifth and final round of shots. Raffi Gregorian (Houston, Texas/Houston Dynamo Academy) stepped up and calmly deposited a shot on the ground into the lower left corner to set off a wild celebration on LIU's home field.
 
LIU Brooklyn held a narrow 13-12 advantage in shots. Binks made five saves for the Terriers and Keys made three for the Blackbirds.