By Michael Otero
Sports Editor
On Friday, Oct. 31, the men’s soccer team (13-3-1) took the field against the Redhawks from Roberts Wesleyan College (10-6-2). The Pioneers dominated in every facet of the game and cruised to a 6-0 victory in Rochester N.Y. The victory gave the Pioneers a clean slate for the month of October, as they won all eight of their matches and posted four shutouts.
The Pioneers grabbed the lead in the 10th minute and never looked back. Graduate forward Dale McDonald sent a pass to sophomore forward Johann Kristjansson who netted his second goal of the season. Just six minutes later, McDonald was able to beat the keeper to put the Pioneers up 2-0.
Already leading and with momentum on their side, the visitors stayed aggressive. Freshman back David Arvidsson was the recipient of a pass from sophomore back Johannes Forgaard and the freshman tallied his first collegiate goal. A little over a minute later, McDonald scored his second goal of the contest, pushing the Pioneer lead to 4-0 at halftime.
The Pioneers outshot the Redhawks 7-1 in the first half and continued their stellar play in the second half. The hosts were kept off the score board while the Green and Gold added two more goals, putting the game on ice. Kristjansson and Arvidsson each added their second goals on the evening to round out the scoring. In the net, junior goalkeeper Jesper Malmstrom stopped the one shot that came his way and earned another shutout.
The Pioneers returned to action on Sunday, Nov. 2, when they visited the Daemen College Wildcats (5-10) in their regular season finale. The Pioneers continued their dominance and came away with a 5-0 victory.
The Pioneers got the scoring started with a goal in the eighth minute from Kristjansson. From that point on, the Green and Gold did not look back. Only minutes later, McDonald conducted one of his many chances to double the lead.
The first half was very physical, as yellow cards were handed out to multiple players. Senior forward Eivind Austboe got a penalty kick as a result from the overly-physical Wildcats and netted the shot. Less than five minutes after scoring the penalty kick, Austboe connected for another goal, his 15th on the season.
The Pioneers set the tone for the match, with 19 shots compared to just seven for the hosts. With back-to-back shutout victories, the Pioneers pushed their winning streak to a season high of nine games. The Pioneers, who are peaking at the right time, will face off against the Dowling College Lions on Thursday, Nov. 6, in a conference semi-final playoff game. Kickoff is slated for 1.30 p.m.
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