Battle of Brooklyn (college rivalry)

The Battle of Brooklyn is the college sports rivalry between Long Island University and St. Francis College. The LIU Sharks and SFBK Terriers are both in the Northeast Conference and compete against each other in various sports. The Battle of Brooklyn is a fierce rivalry, which originated in men's basketball; while the two schools are rivals in all sports that both schools sponsor, the "Battle of Brooklyn" name is currently applied only to matchups in men's and women's basketball and men's soccer. The intensity of the rivalry is augmented by the proximity of the two universities, located only one mile apart in Downtown Brooklyn. The name of the rivalry is in reference to the first major battle of the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Brooklyn.[1]

Locations of LIU and St. Francis College

Prior to 2019–20, the rivalry involved LIU's Brooklyn campus, branded athletically as "LIU" or "Long Island" through 2012–13 and "LIU Brooklyn" from 2013 forward. With the 2019 merger of the athletic programs of LIU's two main campuses (Brooklyn and Post), creating the current LIU Sharks, the Battle of Brooklyn continues to be a pure geographic rivalry in basketball. The men's soccer rivalry is no longer a geographic "Battle of Brooklyn" because the merged LIU program chose to house that sport at the Post campus in Nassau County, New York.

Men's basketball

Battle of Brooklyn
SportBasketball
First meetingFebruary 25, 1976
SFBK 83, LIU 79
Latest meetingJanuary 30, 2021
LIU 102, SFBK 88
Next meetingTBD
TrophyLai-Lynch MVP Trophy
Statistics
Meetings total45
All-time seriesLIU leads, 26–20
Largest victoryLIU 82–45 (February 15, 2017)
Longest win streakSFBK, 5 (1999–2003)
Current win streakLIU, 1 (2021–present)

The Battle of Brooklyn started as an annual basketball game played between the basketball programs of Long Island University (which then consisted only of today's LIU Brooklyn campus) and St. Francis College.[2] The rivalry between the Terriers and the Sharks (previously known as the Blackbirds) dates back to the 1928 season, when they first played one another, but the tradition of an annual game between the two programs began in the 1975–76 season predating when both teams joined the Northeast Conference in the 1981. At the conclusion of each game an MVP is announced and the winning team receives the Lai-Lynch Trophy, which honors William Lai and Daniel Lynch, the former Athletic Directors of Long Island and St. Francis, respectively.[1][3]

The Battle of Brooklyn plaque listing the past men's basketball winners since 1976

Both the St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers and the LIU Sharks compete in the Division I Northeast Conference. Although the two schools regularly play twice each regular season, only one of the games, usually the last, is officially designated as a Battle of Brooklyn game. The host of the designated Battle of Brooklyn alternates annually and is held at campus sites. The Blackbirds host their games at the Steinberg Wellness Center and the Terriers host their home contests at the Generoso Pope Athletic Complex. The 39th installment of the Battle of Brooklyn was held at the Barclays Center, the largest venue so far for the annual contest, with LIU Brooklyn as the hosts.[4] The Sharks lead the overall series 69–45 and the Battle of Brooklyn series 25–20.

Notable games

  • The first game of the Battle of Brooklyn rivalry was played on February 25, 1976 before 1,000 spectators at the "old Brooklyn Paramount theater." The game was decided in the final 40 seconds, when Tony Babin of St. Francis scored on a lay-up to give the Terriers a 3-point lead.[5]
  • In a testament to the rivalry's intensity, on January 4, 1994, the Terriers, suffering through the worst season in school history (eventually finishing at 1–26) stepped it up a notch and collected their only win of the season, beating LIU by 11 points, 78-67.
  • On February 22, 2003, the Terriers hosted the Blackbirds at The Pope and both teams set a NEC record for points in a game. The match-up went into double overtime and featured 282 points, with St. Francis winning, 142–140.
  • The Blackbirds' first game at the Steinberg Wellness Center was on January 26, 2006 against Sacred Heart. Yet the grand opening of the Steinberg Wellness Center was for the Long Island vs. St. Francis men's basketball game on February 27, 2006.[6] The wait until the Battle of Brooklyn game for the grand opening of the Wellness Center is a testament to the rivalry's importance to both schools. The Blackbirds previously held their home games at the Schwartz Athletic Center.[7]
  • On February 6, 2010, the Blackbirds and Terriers went into triple overtime in the annual Battle of Brooklyn game. The Terriers were eventually able to beat the Blackbirds. After the game former LIU head coach Jim Ferry had this to say: "A 10-point lead in a Battle of Brooklyn game is never safe. I’ve been through this before, I think this is my third overtime game in this series..."[8]

Men's game results

Long Island/LIU Brooklyn victories[9] shaded black β–ˆβ–ˆ. Beginning with the 2019-20 season LIU victories are shaded gold β–ˆβ–ˆ.

St. Francis College victories[10] are shaded blue β–ˆβ–ˆ.

# Date Site Winner Score MVP Series
1February 25, 1976[5]Schwartz Athletic CenterSt. Francis83–79Jerome Williams (SFBK)SFBK 1–0
21976–77Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLong Island114–92Gerard Trapp (SFBK)Tied 1–1
31977–78Schwartz Athletic CenterLong Island64–61John N. Bailey (LIU)LIU 2–1
41978–79Neutral LocationSt. Francis82–72Manny Figueroa (SFBK)Tied 2–2
5December 3, 1979Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLong Island91–69Robert Cole (LIU)LIU 3–2
6January 14, 1981Schwartz Athletic CenterLong Island85–67Rudy Johnson (LIU)LIU 4–2
7January 18, 1982Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLong Island98–82Riley Clarida (LIU)LIU 5–2
8January 5, 1983Schwartz Athletic CenterSt. Francis81–72Kevin Henry (SFBK)LIU 5–3
9February 4, 1984Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLong Island88–81Carey Scurry (LIU)LIU 6–3
10December 7, 1984Schwartz Athletic CenterLong Island68–63Walter Jordan (LIU)LIU 7–3
11January 4, 1986Schwartz Athletic CenterLong Island76–66Andre Evan (LIU)LIU 8–3
12January 3, 1987Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexSt. Francis94–91OTDarwin Purdie (SFBK)LIU 8–4
13December 12, 1987Schwartz Athletic CenterLong Island66–63Glenn Daniels (LIU)LIU 9–4
14February 20, 1989Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLong Island79–77OTFreddie Burton (LIU)LIU 10–4
15January 6, 1990Schwartz Athletic CenterSt. Francis74–63John Arnold (SFBK)LIU 10–5
16February 9, 1991Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLong Island117-1152OTBrent McCollin (LIU)LIU 11–5
17February 8, 1992Schwartz Athletic CenterSt. Francis97–94Lynn Smith (SFBK)LIU 11–6
18January 28, 1993Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexSt. Francis107–98Lou Meyers (SFBK)LIU 11–7
19January 4, 1994Schwartz Athletic CenterSt. Francis78–67Bryan Willcox (SFBK)LIU 11–8
20January 5, 1995Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLong Island74–61Joe Griffin (LIU)LIU 12–8
21February 19, 1996Schwartz Athletic CenterLong Island105–77Dave Masciate (LIU)LIU 13–8
22January 25, 1997Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLong Island68–64Mike Campbell (LIU)LIU 14–8
23February 18, 1998Schwartz Athletic CenterLong Island86–71Mike Campbell (LIU)LIU 15–8
24January 11, 1999Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexSt. Francis74–68Ray Mineland (SFBK)LIU 15–9
25January 19, 2000Schwartz Athletic CenterSt. Francis66–63Herberth Reyes (SFBK)LIU 15–10
26January 13, 2001Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexSt. Francis81–63Steven Howard (SFBK)LIU 15–11
27February 25, 2002Schwartz Athletic CenterSt. Francis108–94OTJason Morgan (SFBK)LIU 15–12
28February 22, 2003Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexSt. Francis142–1402OTCliff Strong (SFBK)LIU 15–13
29February 21, 2004Schwartz Athletic CenterLong Island78–75Brandon Thomas (LIU)LIU 16–13
30February 10, 2005Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexSt. Francis77–68Allan Sheppard (SFBK)LIU 16–14
31February 27, 2006Steinberg Wellness CenterLong Island67–64James Williams (LIU)LIU 17–14
32February 11, 2007Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLong Island82–79OTJames Williams (LIU)LIU 18–14
33February 21, 2008Steinberg Wellness CenterSt. Francis67–64Kayode Ayeni (SFBK)LIU 18–15
34February 28, 2009Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLong Island66–54Ron Manigault (LIU)LIU 19–15
35February 6, 2010Steinberg Wellness CenterSt. Francis88–843OTRicky Cadell (SFBK)LIU 19–16
36February 12, 2011
MSG
Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLong Island82–80C. J. Garner (LIU)LIU 20–16
37February 12, 2012
MSG
Steinberg Wellness CenterLong Island81–78Jamal Olasewere (LIU)LIU 21–16
38January 24, 2013
FCS/MSG+
Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLong Island78–68C. J. Garner (LIU)LIU 22–16
39February 16, 2014
FCS/MSG
Barclays CenterLIU Brooklyn69–68Jason Brickman (LIU)LIU 23–16
40January 31, 2015
FCS/MSG
Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexSt. Francis81–64Brent Jones (SFBK)LIU 23–17
41January 23, 2016
ESPN3
Steinberg Wellness CenterSt. Francis64–49Chris Hooper (SFBK)LIU 23–18
42February 15, 2017
CBSSN
Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLIU Brooklyn82–45Jerome Frink (LIU)LIU 24–18
43February 22, 2018Steinberg Wellness CenterLIU Brooklyn81–76Joel Hernandez (LIU)LIU 25–18
44February 14, 2019Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexSt. Francis83–76Glenn Sanabria (SFBK)LIU 25–19
45February 18, 2020
ESPNU
Steinberg Wellness CenterSt. Francis87–77Milija Cosic (SFBK)LIU 25–20
46January 30, 2021
ESPN3 & SNY
Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLIU Sharks102–88Ty Flowers & Eral Penn (LIU)LIU 26–20

Women's basketball

Battle of Brooklyn
SportBasketball
First meetingFebruary 26, 1994
LIU 76, SFBK 63
Latest meetingJanuary 28, 2021
SFBK 66, LIU 53
TrophyMVP Trophy
Statistics
Meetings total27
All-time seriesSFBK, 15–13
Largest victoryLIU 66–39 (February 4, 2010)
Longest win streak5 SFBK, 2017-present
Current win streakSFBK, 5 (2017–present)

During the 1993–94 season the women's basketball programs of St. Francis College and Long Island University contested their first official Battle of Brooklyn. Since February 21, 1975 when the two teams first met, LIU leads the overall series 50–28. St. Francis leads the Battle of Brooklyn series 14–13.[11]

Women's game results

Long Island/LIU Brooklyn victories shaded black β–ˆβ–ˆ. Beginning in the 2019-20 season LIU victories are shaded gold β–ˆβ–ˆ.

St. Francis victories[12] are shaded blue β–ˆβ–ˆ.

# Date Site Winner Score MVP Series
1February 26, 1994Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLong Island76–63Nicole Thomas (LIU)LIU 1–0
2February 25, 1995Schwartz Athletic CenterSt. Francis90–76Christine Cunningham (SFBK)Tied 1–1
3January 18, 1996Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexSt. Francis75–53Dot Guerriero (SFBK)SFBK 2–1
4February 22, 1997Schwartz Athletic CenterLong Island81–68Danielle Fiorello (LIU)Tied 2–2
5January 17, 1998Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexSt. Francis90–80Christine Taps (SFBK)SFBK 3–2
6January 7, 1999Schwartz Athletic CenterSt. Francis71–50Carolyn Harvey (SFBK)SFBK 4–2
7February 9, 2000Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLong Island68–46Kim MacMillan (LIU)SFBK 4–3
8January 31, 2001Schwartz Athletic CenterLong Island80–72Tamika Dudley (LIU)Tied 4–4
9January 7, 2002Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLong Island70–57Tamika Dudley (LIU)LIU 5–4
10February 27, 2003Schwartz Athletic CenterLong Island73–55Tamika Dudley (LIU)LIU 6–4
11March 1, 2004Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexSt. Francis58–57OTBrittany Porter (SFBK)LIU 6–5
12February 21, 2005Schwartz Athletic CenterSt. Francis62–57Kim Bennett (SFBK)Tied 6–6
13January 23, 2006Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLong Island64–52Amber Wirth (LIU)LIU 7–6
14December 7, 2006Steinberg Wellness CenterLong Island59–54Valerie Nainima (LIU)LIU 8–6
15March 3, 2008Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLong Island62–49Valerie Nainima (LIU)LIU 9–6
16January 17, 2009Steinberg Wellness CenterSt. Francis49–48Kara Ayers (SFBK)LIU 9–7
17February 4, 2010Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLong Island66–39Chelsi Johnson (LIU)LIU 10–7
18February 14, 2011Steinberg Wellness CenterLong Island64–41Ashley Palmer (LIU)LIU 11–7
19February 15, 2012Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLong Island60–53Ashley Palmer (LIU)LIU 12–7
20January 28, 2013Steinberg Wellness CenterSt. Francis69–58Leah Fechko (SFBK)LIU 12–8
21March 3, 2014Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexSt. Francis66–50Sarah Benedetti (SFBK)LIU 12–9
22March 2, 2015Steinberg Wellness CenterSt. Francis73–49Sarah Benedetti (SFBK)LIU 12–10
23February 13, 2016Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexLIU Brooklyn62–65OTShanice Vaughan (LIU)LIU 13–10
24January 14, 2017
ESPN3
Steinberg Wellness CenterSt. Francis56–54Kat Phipps (SFBK)LIU 13–11
25February 17, 2018
ESPN3
Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexSt. Francis64–54Jade Johnson (SFBK)LIU 13–12
26January 21, 2019
ESPN3
Steinberg Wellness CenterSt. Francis79–67Jade Johnson (SFBK)Tied 13–13
27January 8, 2020
SNY
Generoso Pope Athletic ComplexSt. Francis88–63Nevena Dimitrijevic (SFBK)SFBK 14–13
28January 28, 2021
ESPN+
Steinberg Wellness CenterSt. Francis66–53Nevena Dimitrijevic (SFBK)SFBK 15–13

Men's soccer

Battle of Brooklyn
SportSoccer
First meetingNovember 10, 2013
St. Francis 4, LIU Brooklyn 0
Latest meetingNovember 10, 2019
LIU 3, St. Francis 0
TrophyRamirez–Tramontozzi Trophy
Statistics
Meetings total7
All-time seriesSt. Francis leads, 4–3
Largest victorySt. Francis 4–0 (November 10, 2013)
Longest win streakSt. Francis, 2 (2013–2014), (2016–2017); LIU, 2 (2018–present)
Current win streakLIU, 2 (2018–present)

Starting in 2013, the men's soccer programs for LIU Brooklyn and St. Francis College formalized their rivalry by naming their annual match a Battle of Brooklyn and awarding a trophy. The trophy is called the Ramirez–Tramontozzi trophy and recognizes former men's soccer coaches Arnie Ramirez and Carlos Tramontozzi, from LIU (Brooklyn) and St. Francis respectively. Both coaches were lifelong friends and greatly influenced their respective programs.[13] St. Francis Brooklyn captured the inaugural trophy on LIU's field on November 10, 2013, behind a 4–0 performance. Since the 1970 season, when the two programs first met, LIU leads the overall series 25–22–3.

Since the LIU athletic merger, the men's soccer rivalry is no longer a Battle of Brooklyn in geographic terms, as LIU moved its unified men's soccer program to the Post campus.[14]

Men's game results

LIU Brooklyn victories (2013–2018) shaded black β–ˆβ–ˆ. LIU victories (2019–present) are shaded gold β–ˆβ–ˆ. St. Francis victories are shaded blue β–ˆβ–ˆ.

Note that the 2013 men's soccer season, the first in which the "Battle of Brooklyn" name was applied to the rivalry, was also the first in which LIU's Brooklyn campus had officially adopted "LIU Brooklyn" as its athletic brand name.

# Date Site Winner Score Series
1November 10, 2013LIU Soccer Field, BrooklynSt. Francis4–0SFBK 1–0–0
2November 9, 2014Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 5St. Francis2–0SFBK 2–0–0
3November 8, 2015LIU Soccer Field, BrooklynLIU Brooklyn1–0SFBK 2–1–0
4November 6, 2016Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 5St. Francis1–0SFBK 3–1–0
5November 3, 2017LIU Soccer Field, BrooklynSt. Francis2–1 OTSFBK 4–1–0
6September 30, 2018Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 5LIU Brooklyn2–1 OTSFBK 4–2–0
7November 10, 2019LIU Soccer Park, BrookvilleLIU3–0SFBK 4–3–0

See also

References

  1. "Rivalry's all good in the neighborhood". espn.com. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  2. "Battle of Brooklyn has a little extra on the line this week". usatoday.com. February 7, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  3. "2010-11 Men's Basketball Media Guide". SFC Athletics. p. 39. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  4. "LIU Brooklyn vs St. Francis Brooklyn". barclayscenter.com. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
  5. "L.I.U. Is Upset By St.Francis". timesmachine.NYTimes.com. February 26, 1976. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  6. "Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center". liuathletics.com. 2007. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  7. "The Arnold and Marie Schwartz Center". liuathletics.com. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  8. "2009-2010 Men's Basketball News and Notes" (PDF). northeastconference.org. 2010. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  9. "2012-2013 LIU Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). liuathletics.com. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  10. "St. Francis (NY) Terriers". Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  11. "LIU WBB Record Book" (PDF). LIUAthletics.com. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  12. "2009-2010 St. Francis (NY) Terriers women's basketball Media Guide". SFCAthletics.com. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  13. "St. Francis Brooklyn & LIU Brooklyn Play For More Than Bragging Rights This Sunday". SFCAthletics.com. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  14. "One LIU: Frequently Asked Questions". Long Island University. Archived from the original on October 12, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
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