Freshman midfielder/forward Casey Madigan (Montvale, NJ) on Sunday scored one of Long Island’s biggest goals of the season and today was rewarded by being named Northeast Conference Men’s Soccer Rookie of the Week.

Madigan came off the bench in Sunday’s 3-1 victory over Monmouth to net what proved to be the decisive goal. He won the scramble for a loose ball in the goal mouth and knocked it in late in the first half for his second tally of the season.

The win moved the Blackbirds (7-5-4, 5-1-3 NEC) into fourth place in the Northeast Conference. They need either a win or a tie Friday against Central Connecticut State to clinch their first NEC Tournament berth since winning it in 1997. The tournament will take place November 9 and 11 in Hamden, CT.

It has been a spectacular season for Madigan, who has been a regular in the starting lineup for most of the campaign. He also has two assists on the year, giving him six points. One of those helpers was a cross to sophomore Gustavo Lozano (Cali, Colombia) in overtime that helped lead LIU to a crucial 4-3 win over Sacred Heart on October 21.

Madigan is coming off a tremendous prep year in which he tallied eight goals and 13 assists as a senior for St. Joseph’s Regional. He was tabbed third team all-county and honorable mention all-state a season ago, and also was named the school’s Athlete of the Year in 1999-2000.

Madigan is the third different Blackbird to earn an NEC honor this season. Freshman Matt Paradise (Pittsburgh, PA) was named Rookie of the Week on September 10 and 24 and sophomore Oskar Tilly (Karlstad, Sweden) was Player of the Week on September 10.