Men’s Soccer Win in Offensive Showdown

On Saturday, Oct. 25, the men’s soccer team (11-3-1) took on the Mercy College Mavericks (3-12) and defeated their East Coast Conference rival from Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., by a score of 4-3. The Pioneers claimed the victory and in doing so, pushed their winning streak to a season high of seven games.

The scoring got underway in the 26th minute as junior midfielder Matias Ruiz found the back of the net to give the Pioneers the early 1-0 lead. Ruiz took advantage of the Mavericks goalie being too far out of his net, and kicked a shot from 40 yards out. With the early goal, the Pioneers did not let up, as they scored their second goal of the match less than two minutes later.

After a pass from Ruiz, junior midfielder Per Forgaard weaved his way through the defense and beat the Mercy keeper, putting the Pioneers up two goals.

However, despite the growing momentum for LIU, Mercy was not down for the count. A goal from senior midfielder Danny Leon Jr. cut the lead in half and kept the Mavericks in the game. Looking to answer the goal, the Pioneers turned to freshman forward Jason Lampkin. He found senior forward Eivind Austboe who managed to guide the ball passed the keeper, making the score 3-1 in favor of the Pioneers.

With the game nearing halftime and Pioneers with all the momentum, they chose not to let their foot off the gas pedal. In the 43rd minute, the Pioneers took advantage of a corner kick and were able to score again. Sophomore defender Joey Forgaard found the net after a rebound.

In the second half, Mercy increased its offensive intensity, firing a total of 10 shots. The score remained at 4-1 until the 85th minute, when junior midfielder Juan Gatti received the ball from senior midfielder Jonathan Garcia and was able to penetrate the Pioneer defense and score to slice the led in half. With the score now 4-2, the Mavericks made it even closer with a goal in the closing seconds, but the clock finally struck midnight on their comeback efforts as they fell short.