Following a tough double-overtime loss to Nyack College, the C.W. Post Men’s Soccer team bounced back to beat Queens College 2-0 in a must-win game to clinch a spot for the ECC Championships.
On Thursday, Post squared off against the out-of-conference team. Early in the game, sophomore forward Betim Bajrami struck the back of the net for his sixth goal of the year, and second consecutive game recording a goal.
The Pioneers played lockdown defense and controlled the tempo for most of the game. But Nyack put up a last attempt to tie up the score in the waning moments of the game, and did so successfully. With just over one minute remaining, Nyack evened the score up at one goal apiece.
Both teams could not close out the game after the first overtime session, but Nyack found a way to finish off the Pioneers in the second overtime period with a late goal from Ryan Walters.
After a difficult 2-1 loss to Nyack College (7-10), the Pioneers had to keep their heads up because a win versus Queens College (5-12-1) would mean they would qualify for the ECC Championships.
Midway through the first half, senior forward Rumen Kerekov scored off a header from freshman back Eirik Bjoernoe to give Post the early advantage 1-0.
“There was some pressure in the beginning, said Kerekov. “But when we scored the first goal everything came into place.”
In a pressure-packed game, the Pioneers thrived on offense by scoring yet again off a header. This time, junior midfielder Neil Franco was the recipient of the Eirik Bjoernoe pass.
“The team was organized, we were fighting hard, and we did not let the other team play with the ball as much,” mentioned Kerekov. “We were clearly the better team.”
The Pioneers came up clutch winning the game that absolutely needed to be won in order to qualify for the ECC Championships. The final score ended up being 2-0 in favor of the Pioneers in their most important game of the year.
The Pioneers (7-8-1) are currently the number four seed in the ECC Championships. The final ECC seedings have yet to be determined, but Post is confident with whomever their opponent is this upcoming Friday.
“I strongly believe that if we beat the team on Friday we will win the conference title. If we play on Friday in the same way we played against Queens we will definitely get what we need,” declared Kerekov.
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