Women’s Soccer Battles Towards Playoff Spot

By Eirik Bjorno
Sports Editor

The LIU Post women’s soccer team has managed to keep their good start going, and are now holding a 10-4 overall record, while being 4-2 in the East Coast Conference. It will be a close race to secure one of three available playoff spots.

On Thursday, Oct. 17 the Pioneers took on Holy Family University at home at Roberts Blitz field in Brookville, New York. The game
was only one minute old, when senior forward Jeanine Ambrogi put the green and gold on the board with a shot from the top of the 18-yard box. Ambrogi’s goal proved to be the only goal of the half, but senior forward Alexa Niciforo only used 11 minutes of the second half to double the lead. The Pioneers managed to ride the game out, and secure an important 2-0 win.

Looking at the ECC standings, Bridgeport University seems to be unstoppable, and has won all of their first seven ECC games, but behind the Purple Knights it is wide open. LIU Post alongside Mercy, Roberts Wesleyan, Queens and Dowling are all in a position to make the conference playoffs. The Pioneers took another step towards making a post- season appearance when they dominated St. Thomas Aquinas College 6-1 on Saturday, Oct. 19.

Six different players found the back of the net in the win, while junior back Lauren Bellone had a standout performance, tallying two assists for the night. But it was Niciforo who started off the scoring bonanza when she found the back of the net after 14 minutes.

After that point the goals kept coming. Freshmen midfielders Katie Kingston and Sarah McGarry both added a tally each, and sophomore forward Susanne Vistnes added her eighth goal of the year 62 minutes into the contest. Vistnes now looks forward to the season’s last four games, and is excited about the position the Pioneers are in. “We obviously wish we had won a couple of more games, but we still have the opportunity to decide our own destiny,” Vistnes said.

The first chance the Pioneers have to gain momentum towards playoffs is to beat Wilmington University on the road on Tuesday, Oct. 22, before hosting Mercy College for their senior day on Saturday, Oct 26.