By Michael Otero
Sports Editor
The Pioneers (2-2) got some good news last week, as senior forward Eivind Austboe was named East Coast Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week. Austboe scored four goals and added an assist to his stat line in LIU’s dominating 5-0 victory over Adelphi University. With their confidence high, the Pioneers went into Bridgeport, Conn. on Thursday, Sept. 11, to take part in the Purple Knight Classic where they faced off against the Warriors of Merrimack College (4-0). The match needed two overtimes to decide a winner.
The Pioneers struck late in the first half, as freshman forward Jason Lampkin sent a pass to Austboe who found the back of the net, continuing his stellar play. Going into the break, the Pioneers were up 1-0 and held several advantages in shots and corner kicks. The lead and momentum would not last long for the Pioneers, as the Warriors tied the match in the 62nd minute off a Post turnover. Less than three minutes after the Merrimack goal, the Green and Gold had a great scoring opportunity. Lampkin sent another pass, this time to junior midfielder Per Forgaard, who scored a goal, giving the visitors a 2-1 advantage.
Both teams played aggressively, resulting in yellow cards for both sides, and a crucial red card for the Pioneers. After the red card, junior defender Julio Leon Garcia was awarded a free kick, and was able to net a shot, tying the game at two apiece.
The scoring halted for the rest of regulation and the first overtime. A second overtime was needed, and in the extra time, the Warriors were able to capitalize. Senior midfielder Ignacio Farias scored the game winning goal in the 105th minute to send the Warriors home with the victory.
The Pioneers dominated the game early with leads in shots, shots on goal, and corner kicks. As the game continued, the Warriors limited the Pioneer opportunities by not allowing a single shot in either overtime period, putting a stranglehold on the game. The Pioneers returned to action on Saturday, Sept. 13, when they took the field against the Bears of Bloomfield College (0-3).
The Pioneers started to build momentum early, and scored the first goal of the game at the 1:38 mark. Graduate student forward Dale McDonald weaved his way from midfield through the Bear defense, and netted the goal to start the scoring. The Pioneers dominated the ball in the first half, getting triple the shots and beating the Bears on 50/50 opportunities. The Green and Gold added to their lead late in the first half when freshman midfielder Harry Pearse found Forgaard off a corner kick. The Pioneers took their 2-0 lead into halftime.
Early in the second half, the Pioneers were keeping the pressure on the Bears with five shots in the first 10 minutes. One of those shots came from Forgaard, who picked up the loose ball off a corner kick and found the back of the net for his second goal of the match. The Pioneers went up 3-0.
The result on the scoreboard was a direct correlation to the shots for each side. The Pioneers totaled 26 shots while the Bears totaled
just four. Head coach Andreas Lindberg and his team return to action on Wednesday, Sept. 17 when they take on the Marauders from the University of Pennsylvania at Millersville. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.
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