Men’s Soccer Loses First Game of the Season

Christian Arnold
Assistant Sports Editor

The men’s soccer team had their perfect season come to an end on Saturday, October 13, after a 2-1 loss to the NYIT Bears. Prior to the loss, the Pioneers had won 12 straight games this season.

The week started off well for the Pioneers, when they defeated the sixth ranked U. Mass.-Lowell River Hawks by a score of 3-0 on Wednesday, October 11. It took just 15 minutes for LIU Post to get on the scoreboard. Junior back Eirik Bjoernoe put a shot past River Hawks goalie, Chris Malerie, and into the lower left hand corner of the net.

The score remained the same into the second half. The Pioneers controlled the play for most of the game and eventually scored their second goal of the game in the 74thminute. Junior forward Cemil Turan fired a shot from the top right of the box and gave the Pioneers the 2-0 lead. Junior midfielder Jonathon Watkin added one more goal for LIU Post in the waning moments of the game to make the final score 3-0.
Pioneer junior keeper Marco Jorgensen made four saves in the win. It was also his fourth shutout of the season. LIU Post also held the advantage in shots, 18-9.

But, the Pioneers’ winning streak came to an end on Saturday, October 13, when they traveled up Northern Boulevard to take on the Bears. During the first half, neither team produced a goal; the first 15 minutes of the second half rendered the same result.

The Bears eventually opened up the scoring in the 64thminute off an unassisted goal by Herve Valcourt. NYIT added a second goal in the 78thminute to give them a 2-0 lead. The Pioneers cut the lead to one, when Bjoernoe scored off a penalty kick, but the team could not find the tying the goal.

NYIT has always given the Pioneers a run for their money. Last season the Bears forced LIU Post to a 2-2 tie in their only regular season matchup, though they fell to them in the ECC Championships. The loss to rival NYIT was the first in five years during the regular season.

The Pioneers did hold a slight shot advantage in the loss. They out shot the Bears 18-15, as well as held a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks.

The loss was the Pioneers’ first of the year and first against an East Coast Conference team. The Pioneers still have the 7thranked offense in all of division two soccer. Their next game is against Philadelphia University in Philadelphia on Tuesday, October 16.