The 2010 C.W. Post Men’s soccer team finished with a record of 7-8-2 (4-3), which qualified them to reach the East Coast Conference Championships. In the championships, Post squared off against a tough Dowling squad and lost a heartbreaker via penalty kicks.
“A loss is a loss,” said senior forward Rumen Kerekov. “Although the game was even, there was a disappointment from the loss. Shootout is gambling and unfortunately we were on the losing side.”
To start off the 2010 campaign, the Pioneers got off to a rocky start losing three of their first four games. However, the Pioneers quickly rebounded to a 4-4-1 record, as they later won three games in a row, and won their first two conference match-ups versus the New York Institute of Technology and the University of Bridgeport.
Next on the schedule was the eventual-champion Dowling Golden Lions. Post ended up falling to Dowling 2-1 in a fierce battle of conference rivals.
“The first game against Dowling was the turning point of the season,” mentioned Kerekov. “We should have won it in order to keep our chances for NCAA. But we lost and our mentality went down. Although after that game we had some outstanding games, we did not manage to achieve the consistency we needed.”
There was definitely a lack of consistency as Post lost four of their final seven games of the season, but yet there was still an opportunity to make it into the ECC Championships. All the Pioneers had to do was win against inner-conference Queens College.
“My favorite moment of the season was when we defeated Queens at home,” said Kerekov. “This was a decisive game and we had to win it in order to qualify for the playoffs. Fortunately, we played great and beat them 2-0.”
After the victory against Queens, Post went up against Dowling in the ECC Championships, but came up short. “The team played well at times,” explained Kerekov. “The problem was that in the most important games we made crucial mistakes that caused our losses.”
In addition, throughout the year, the Pioneers were forced to deal with several key injuries to their squad. Even sophomore back Leron Haywood missed a majority of the year as he only appeared in three games. Haywood was last year’s MVP in the ECC Tournament.
The loss to Dowling was the last time the group of players would all be on the field at the same time. Notable players leaving the team this year are Captain Ed Shone, Emanuel Messina, and Kerekov.
“I will miss playing soccer with the team,” said Kerekov who scored five goals and totaled twelve points for the season. “Although I came to the team this season, I feel very attached to the guys and to the team as a whole. I wish the guys good luck next year! They can definitely make the NCAA.”
The men’s soccer team has promise for next season as two players were selected to the East Coast Conference first team. Freshman back Joakim Ohlson and junior midfielder David Carlsson both earned spots on the All-Conference Team. Ohlson had six goals and distributed three assists, and Carlsson scored four goals and dished out two assists.
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