# Battle of Brooklyn (college rivalry)

The Battle of Brooklyn was the college sports rivalry between Long Island University and St. Francis College. The LIU Sharks and SFBK Terriers were both in the Northeast Conference and competed against each other in various sports. The Battle of Brooklyn was 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 was augmented by the proximity of the two universities, located less than a half-mile (about 500 m) 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.
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. After the 2022-23 academic year, St. Francis Brooklyn ended intercollegiate sports, putting an end to the rivalry between the Sharks and Terriers.

## Men's basketball

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. 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.
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. Through the 2021–22 season, the Terriers played home games at the Generoso Pope Athletic Complex. In 2022, SFC moved its campus from Remsen Street in Brooklyn Heights to Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn; with the new campus lacking a basketball venue, the Terriers will at least temporarily play home games at the Activity Resource Center (ARC) of Pratt Institute, located about 2 miles away in the Clinton Hill neighborhood. 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. The Sharks led 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.
* 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. 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.
* 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..."

### Men's game results

Long Island/LIU Brooklyn victories shaded black ██. Beginning with the 2019-20 season LIU victories are shaded gold ██.
St. Francis College victories are shaded blue ██.
| # | Date | Site | Winner | Score | MVP | Series |
| 1 | February 25, 1976 | Schwartz Athletic Center | St. Francis | 83–79 | Jerome Williams (SFBK) | SFBK 1–0 |
| 2 | 1976–77 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | Long Island | 114–92 | Gerard Trapp (SFBK) | Tied 1–1 |
| 3 | 1977–78 | Schwartz Athletic Center | Long Island | 64–61 | John N. Bailey (LIU) | LIU 2–1 |
| 4 | 1978–79 | Neutral Location | St. Francis | 82–72 | Manny Figueroa (SFBK) | Tied 2–2 |
| 5 | December 3, 1979 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | Long Island | 91–69 | Robert Cole (LIU) | LIU 3–2 |
| 6 | January 14, 1981 | Schwartz Athletic Center | Long Island | 85–67 | Rudy Johnson (LIU) | LIU 4–2 |
| 7 | January 18, 1982 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | Long Island | 98–82 | Riley Clarida (LIU) | LIU 5–2 |
| 8 | January 5, 1983 | Schwartz Athletic Center | St. Francis | 81–72 | Kevin Henry (SFBK) | LIU 5–3 |
| 9 | February 4, 1984 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | Long Island | 88–81 | Carey Scurry (LIU) | LIU 6–3 |
| 10 | December 7, 1984 | Schwartz Athletic Center | Long Island | 68–63 | Walter Jordan (LIU) | LIU 7–3 |
| 11 | January 4, 1986 | Schwartz Athletic Center | Long Island | 76–66 | Andre Evan (LIU) | LIU 8–3 |
| 12 | January 3, 1987 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | St. Francis | 94–91$^{OT}$ | Darwin Purdie (SFBK) | LIU 8–4 |
| 13 | December 12, 1987 | Schwartz Athletic Center | Long Island | 66–63 | Glenn Daniels (LIU) | LIU 9–4 |
| 14 | February 20, 1989 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | Long Island | 79–77$^{OT}$ | Freddie Burton (LIU) | LIU 10–4 |
| 15 | January 6, 1990 | Schwartz Athletic Center | St. Francis | 74–63 | John Arnold (SFBK) | LIU 10–5 |
| 16 | February 9, 1991 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | Long Island | 117-115$^{2OT}$ | Brent McCollin (LIU) | LIU 11–5 |
| 17 | February 8, 1992 | Schwartz Athletic Center | St. Francis | 97–94 | Lynn Smith (SFBK) | LIU 11–6 |
| 18 | January 28, 1993 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | St. Francis | 107–98 | Lou Meyers (SFBK) | LIU 11–7 |
| 19 | January 4, 1994 | Schwartz Athletic Center | St. Francis | 78–67 | Bryan Willcox (SFBK) | LIU 11–8 |
| 20 | January 5, 1995 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | Long Island | 74–61 | Joe Griffin (LIU) | LIU 12–8 |
| 21 | February 19, 1996 | Schwartz Athletic Center | Long Island | 105–77 | Dave Masciate (LIU) | LIU 13–8 |
| 22 | January 25, 1997 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | Long Island | 68–64 | Mike Campbell (LIU) | LIU 14–8 |
| 23 | February 18, 1998 | Schwartz Athletic Center | Long Island | 86–71 | Mike Campbell (LIU) | LIU 15–8 |
| 24 | January 11, 1999 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | St. Francis | 74–68 | Ray Mineland (SFBK) | LIU 15–9 |
| 25 | January 19, 2000 | Schwartz Athletic Center | St. Francis | 66–63 | Herberth Reyes (SFBK) | LIU 15–10 |
| 26 | January 13, 2001 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | St. Francis | 81–63 | Steven Howard (SFBK) | LIU 15–11 |
| 27 | February 25, 2002 | Schwartz Athletic Center | St. Francis | 108–94$^{OT}$ | Jason Morgan (SFBK) | LIU 15–12 |
| 28 | February 22, 2003 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | St. Francis | 142–140$^{2OT}$ | Cliff Strong (SFBK) | LIU 15–13 |
| 29 | February 21, 2004 | Schwartz Athletic Center | Long Island | 78–75 | Brandon Thomas (LIU) | LIU 16–13 |
| 30 | February 10, 2005 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | St. Francis | 77–68 | Allan Sheppard (SFBK) | LIU 16–14 |
| 31 | February 27, 2006 | Steinberg Wellness Center | Long Island | 67–64 | James Williams (LIU) | LIU 17–14 |
| 32 | February 11, 2007 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | Long Island | 82–79$^{OT}$ | James Williams (LIU) | LIU 18–14 |
| 33 | February 21, 2008 | Steinberg Wellness Center | St. Francis | 67–64 | Kayode Ayeni (SFBK) | LIU 18–15 |
| 34 | February 28, 2009 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | Long Island | 66–54 | Ron Manigault (LIU) | LIU 19–15 |
| 35 | February 6, 2010 | Steinberg Wellness Center | St. Francis | 88–84$^{3OT}$ | Ricky Cadell (SFBK) | LIU 19–16 |
| 36 | February 12, 2011 MSG | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | Long Island | 82–80 | C. J. Garner (LIU) | LIU 20–16 |
| 37 | February 12, 2012 MSG | Steinberg Wellness Center | Long Island | 81–78 | Jamal Olasewere (LIU) | LIU 21–16 |
| 38 | January 24, 2013 FCS/MSG+ | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | Long Island | 78–68 | C. J. Garner (LIU) | LIU 22–16 |
| 39 | February 16, 2014 FCS/MSG | Barclays Center | LIU Brooklyn | 69–68 | Jason Brickman (LIU) | LIU 23–16 |
| 40 | January 31, 2015 FCS/MSG | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | St. Francis | 81–64 | Brent Jones (SFBK) | LIU 23–17 |
| 41 | January 23, 2016 ESPN3 | Steinberg Wellness Center | St. Francis | 64–49 | Chris Hooper (SFBK) | LIU 23–18 |
| 42 | February 15, 2017 CBSSN | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | LIU Brooklyn | 82–45 | Jerome Frink (LIU) | LIU 24–18 |
| 43 | February 22, 2018 | Steinberg Wellness Center | LIU Brooklyn | 81–76 | Joel Hernandez (LIU) | LIU 25–18 |
| 44 | February 14, 2019 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | St. Francis | 83–76 | Glenn Sanabria (SFBK) | LIU 25–19 |
| 45 | February 18, 2020 ESPNU | Steinberg Wellness Center | St. Francis | 87–77 | Milija Cosic (SFBK) | LIU 25–20 |
| 46 | January 30, 2021 ESPN3 & SNY | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | LIU Sharks | 102–88 | Ty Flowers & Eral Penn (LIU) | LIU 26–20 |
| 47 | February 10, 2022 ESPN3 | Steinberg Wellness Center | LIU Sharks | 74–69 | Ty Flowers & Eral Penn (LIU) | LIU 27–20 |
| 48 | January 16, 2023 ESPN3 | Steinberg Wellness Center | St. Francis | 73-66 | | LIU 27-21 |
| 49 | January 28, 2023 NEC Front Row | Pratt ARC | St. Francis | 71-59 | | LIU 27-22 |

## Women's basketball

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 50–30. St. Francis leads the Battle of Brooklyn series 16–13.

### Women's game results

Long Island/LIU Brooklyn victories shaded black ██. Beginning in the 2019-20 season LIU victories are shaded gold ██.
St. Francis victories are shaded blue ██.
| # | Date | Site | Winner | Score | MVP | Series |
| 1 | February 26, 1994 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | Long Island | 76–63 | Nicole Thomas (LIU) | LIU 1–0 |
| 2 | February 25, 1995 | Schwartz Athletic Center | St. Francis | 90–76 | Christine Cunningham (SFBK) | Tied 1–1 |
| 3 | January 18, 1996 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | St. Francis | 75–53 | Dot Guerriero (SFBK) | SFBK 2–1 |
| 4 | February 22, 1997 | Schwartz Athletic Center | Long Island | 81–68 | Danielle Fiorello (LIU) | Tied 2–2 |
| 5 | January 17, 1998 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | St. Francis | 90–80 | Christine Taps (SFBK) | SFBK 3–2 |
| 6 | January 7, 1999 | Schwartz Athletic Center | St. Francis | 71–50 | Carolyn Harvey (SFBK) | SFBK 4–2 |
| 7 | February 9, 2000 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | Long Island | 68–46 | Kim MacMillan (LIU) | SFBK 4–3 |
| 8 | January 31, 2001 | Schwartz Athletic Center | Long Island | 80–72 | Tamika Dudley (LIU) | Tied 4–4 |
| 9 | January 7, 2002 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | Long Island | 70–57 | Tamika Dudley (LIU) | LIU 5–4 |
| 10 | February 27, 2003 | Schwartz Athletic Center | Long Island | 73–55 | Tamika Dudley (LIU) | LIU 6–4 |
| 11 | March 1, 2004 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | St. Francis | 58–57$^{OT}$ | Brittany Porter (SFBK) | LIU 6–5 |
| 12 | February 21, 2005 | Schwartz Athletic Center | St. Francis | 62–57 | Kim Bennett (SFBK) | Tied 6–6 |
| 13 | January 23, 2006 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | Long Island | 64–52 | Amber Wirth (LIU) | LIU 7–6 |
| 14 | December 7, 2006 | Steinberg Wellness Center | Long Island | 59–54 | Valerie Nainima (LIU) | LIU 8–6 |
| 15 | March 3, 2008 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | Long Island | 62–49 | Valerie Nainima (LIU) | LIU 9–6 |
| 16 | January 17, 2009 | Steinberg Wellness Center | St. Francis | 49–48 | Kara Ayers (SFBK) | LIU 9–7 |
| 17 | February 4, 2010 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | Long Island | 66–39 | Chelsi Johnson (LIU) | LIU 10–7 |
| 18 | February 14, 2011 | Steinberg Wellness Center | Long Island | 64–41 | Ashley Palmer (LIU) | LIU 11–7 |
| 19 | February 15, 2012 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | Long Island | 60–53 | Ashley Palmer (LIU) | LIU 12–7 |
| 20 | January 28, 2013 | Steinberg Wellness Center | St. Francis | 69–58 | Leah Fechko (SFBK) | LIU 12–8 |
| 21 | March 3, 2014 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | St. Francis | 66–50 | Sarah Benedetti (SFBK) | LIU 12–9 |
| 22 | March 2, 2015 | Steinberg Wellness Center | St. Francis | 73–49 | Sarah Benedetti (SFBK) | LIU 12–10 |
| 23 | February 13, 2016 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | LIU Brooklyn | 62–65$^{OT}$ | Shanice Vaughan (LIU) | LIU 13–10 |
| 24 | January 14, 2017 ESPN3 | Steinberg Wellness Center | St. Francis | 56–54 | Kat Phipps (SFBK) | LIU 13–11 |
| 25 | February 17, 2018 ESPN3 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | St. Francis | 64–54 | Jade Johnson (SFBK) | LIU 13–12 |
| 26 | January 21, 2019 ESPN3 | Steinberg Wellness Center | St. Francis | 79–67 | Jade Johnson (SFBK) | Tied 13–13 |
| 27 | January 8, 2020 SNY | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | St. Francis | 88–63 | Nevena Dimitrijevic (SFBK) | SFBK 14–13 |
| 28 | January 28, 2021 ESPN+ | Steinberg Wellness Center | St. Francis | 66–53 | Nevena Dimitrijevic (SFBK) | SFBK 15–13 |
| 29 | February 11, 2022 NEC Front Row | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex | St. Francis | 82–73 | Alyssa Fisher & Isabella Posset (SFBK) | SFBK 16–13 |

## Men's soccer

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. 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 25–23–4.
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.

### Men's game results

LIU Brooklyn victories (2013–2018) shaded black ██. LIU victories (2019–present) are shaded gold ██. St. Francis victories are shaded blue ██.
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 |
| 1 | November 10, 2013 | LIU Soccer Field, Brooklyn | St. Francis | 4–0 | SFBK 1–0–0 |
| 2 | November 9, 2014 | Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 5 | St. Francis | 2–0 | SFBK 2–0–0 |
| 3 | November 8, 2015 | LIU Soccer Field, Brooklyn | LIU Brooklyn | 1–0 | SFBK 2–1–0 |
| 4 | November 6, 2016 | Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 5 | St. Francis | 1–0 | SFBK 3–1–0 |
| 5 | November 3, 2017 | LIU Soccer Field, Brooklyn | St. Francis | 2–1 $^{OT}$ | SFBK 4–1–0 |
| 6 | September 30, 2018 | Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 5 | LIU Brooklyn | 2–1 $^{OT}$ | SFBK 4–2–0 |
| 7 | November 10, 2019 | LIU Soccer Park, Brookville | LIU | 3–0 | SFBK 4–3–0 |
| 8 | April 12, 2021 | Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 5 | Draw | 0–0 | SFBK 4–3–1 |
| 9 | November 7, 2021 | LIU Soccer Park, Brookville | LIU | 3–1 | Tied 4–4–1 |
| 10 | November 3, 2022 | Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 5 | St. Francis | 1–0 | SFBK 5–4–1 |
* ↑ Most recent Battle of Brooklyn meeting; the most recent meeting overall was on November 6, 2022 in the Northeast Conference tournament quarterfinals, won by St. Francis 6–5 on penalties after being drawn at 1–1 after extra time.