On November 7, the nationally ranked Fairleigh Dickinson men’s soccer team delivered Head Coach Seth Roland his 200th career win. The Knights defeated visiting Quinnipiac, 3-1, for the milestone victory.

Seth Roland

“It’s a nice birthday present,” said Roland, who turned 47 that day. “But 200 wins means I’m just getting older and have been around awhile. It’s nice to reach the milestone with this team because they’re such a good group of guys.”

The athletics department honored Roland with a citation for his achievements and dedication to the program on November 9, prior to the Knights’ final regular season game versus Central Connecticut.

Roland recently completed his seventh season at the helm of the Knights. During his tenure he has posted an 82-49-17 record while guiding the squad to three straight National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament appearances, four straight NEC (Northeast Conference) Tournament titles and three NEC regular season crowns in the last four years.

Left photo: Seth Roland, left, was honored by the athletics department with a citation presented by Athletics Director David Langford, right, and Richard Panicucci, center, quantitative analysis and assistant provost for campus life (Metro). Right photo: Roland carefully eyes the team’s progress.

Roland’s 17-year career record as a head coach now stands at 202-113-29. His previous stints as a head coach include five years at Christopher Newport University, Newport News, Va., and another five years at the University of Bridgeport, Conn. He has posted five consecutive 10-win seasons with the Knights and six in his seven years at FDU.

This season, his team finished with a 14-5-1 record. The Knights were in the national top 25 for nine straight weeks and held the top spot in the Mid-Atlantic region for seven straight weeks.

Senior midfielder Johnny David was chosen as the NEC Player of the Year. Senior goalkeeper Andrew Nucifora and sophomore midfielder Nadav Gottesman joined David as First Team All-NEC selections, while juniors Antonio Nunziata, Mathieu Savaria and Brian Scott were Second Team All-NEC picks. Gottesman also was named Third Team Academic All-American and First Team Academic All-District II. David and Nucifora joined Gottesman as Academic All-District selections.

The Knights women’s soccer team also closed out a successful season by winning their first-ever Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament crown. The third-seeded Knights first knocked off Binghamton University, N.Y., in the semifinals at home, 1-0, before defeating top-seeded Fordham University, N.Y.C., on the road, 3-2, in overtime.

In only their fourth year as a varsity program, the Knights set a new team record with 10 wins, finishing at 10-8-1 overall. Three different players earned All-NEC honors. Senior forward Kelly Geraghty was a First Team All-NEC selection after being named to the second team in 2000 and 2001. Senior defender Kim Scrio and junior midfielder Kristen Habenicht were both named to the All-NEC second team this year.

Scrio, who was the first Knight signed by Head Coach Peter Gaglioti in 2000, was also a Second Team Academic All-District II selection.

December 2003/
January 2004

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Flor =
College at Florham, Madison, N.J.

Metro =
Metropolitan Campus, Teaneck, N.J.

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