Pioneers Perfect Through 11

Christian Arnold
Assistant Sports Editor

The LIU Post Pioneers men’s soccer team had a bit of a scare, but managed to defeat Mercy College and the University of Bridgeport to maintain their undefeated season. The Pioneers have a perfect 11-0 on the season and 5-0 in East Coast conference play. Earlier in the week the Pioneers moved up to the number one ranking in Division II soccer.

On Wednesday, October 3, the Pioneers beat the Mercy College Mavericks 3-1. However, it was the Mavericks that struck first in the match. At the 15:15 mark, sophomore midfielder Danny Leon, Jr. put the ball into the lower right corner of the net to give Mercy College the early lead. The Pioneers would answer back in the thirty-first minute when graduate midfielder Bas Beverwijk scored to tie the game at one.

The score would remain that way until the sixty-forth minute in the contest. LIU Post notched two goals in the span of a minute to jump ahead 3-1. First freshman back Johan Wallin scored an unassisted goal in the sixty-forth minute and then graduate midfielder Kieran Mercer scored at 64:12.

With those two goals in hand the Pioneers held on for the 3-1 win, with junior goalkeeper Marco Jorgensen making four saves in the win. LIU Post also held the advantage in shots with a 17-10 margin.
On Saturday, October 6, the Pioneers hosted the University of Bridgeport Purple Knights and defeated them by a score of 3-1.

In similar fashion to the game prior, the Pioneers fell behind early in the game. In the seventh minute sophomore forward Matt Garcia beat Jorgensen to give the Purple Knights a 1-0 lead. However, LIU Post would knot the game back up at one late in the first half. Freshman midfielder Alex Billington headed in a corner kick from junior captain Eirik Bjorno.

The Pioneers captured the lead in the second half when Wallin was on the receiving end of a cross from Mercer to make it 2-1. Junior forward Cemil Turan scored in the seventy-third minute to put the game away, with the Pioneers winning 3-1. Jorgensen made just two saves in the victory and the Pioneers had the advantage in shots, 17-4.

The Pioneers next matchup is at home against sixth-ranked UMass-Lowell on Wednesday, October 10, at 3 p.m.