Number 8 LIU Post Field Hockey Off to Quick Start

Eirik Bjorno
Staff Writer

The LIU Post women’s field hockey team had a strong second half effort to come back and beat number 10 East Stroudsburg University by a score of 5-4 in the PSAC opener on Tuesday, September 11, at Whitenight Field.

The eighth-ranked Pioneers went on the road with the hopes of starting PSAC division play with a win. However, the game started out in the worst possible way for the Pioneers as the Warriors of East Stroudsburg scored the game’s first goal only four minutes into the contest. The Pioneers were able to answer back, with freshman defender Heidi Schaffner and freshman forward Keliann Margiotta both scoring to put the Pioneers in front by the 30-minute mark. The Warriors were able to turn the game around yet again, as they scored two goals before halftime.

In the second half, the Warriors continued to control the game, but the Pioneers found the back of the net on three occasions as sophomore forward Lyn Marie Wilson, Margiotta, and junior forward Carlee Dragon scored one each to give the Pioneers the 5-3 lead. The Warriors managed to get another goal with one minute remaining, but the Pioneers took home a strong 5-4 win on the road.

Senior Ashley Oracewski said that the Pioneers showed the biggest heart and desire, and therefore, they won the tight game. She also pointed out another factor for the win saying, “We were able to score goals when we needed to and that was the key component to winning that game.”

The Pioneers did suffer its first loss of the season on Friday, September 14, when it fell to Shippensburg University by a score of 3-2. Dragon accounted for the only two goals for the Pioneers in the loss.

The Pioneers quickly forgot the loss the following day when the team defeated Mansfield University by a score of 7-1. Margiotta and Dragon each had three goals and fresh¬man forward Claire Steijn added her first goal of the year in the victory. Margiotta now has eight goals for the year and Dragon has scored a goal in every game of the year, giving her a total of nine goals for the season so far.

Oracewski is positive when looking for¬ward to the rest of the season: “If we continue to work hard and improve our skills every day at practice, we can continue to be victorious this season.”