Women’s Soccer Perfect in ECC

Eirik Bjorno
Staff Writer

The LIU Post women’s soccer team seemingly refuses to lose and now holds an eight-game winning streak, giving them the number one spot both in the East Region and in the East Coast Conference. On Thursday, October 11, the Pioneers beat Wilmington University 2-1 at home, before traveling down Northern Boulevard on Saturday, October 13, to beat New York Institute of Technology by a score of 3-1.

The Pioneers kicked off the week by hosting the Wildcats from Wilmington University. They started the game strong, as it took sophomore defender Rebecca Swedberg19 minutes to find the back of the net to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead. The Pioneers controlled the first half, outshooting the Wildcats 13-3, but went into halftime with only a one goal lead.

The Wildcats answered in the 65thminute as a free kick was lofted into the box, and junior midfielder Jordanne Hoesli- Atkins evened the score at 1-1. It took the Pioneers two minutes to put themselves back ahead, as junior forward Alexa Niciforo slipped a pass through to junior midfielder Jeanine Ambrogi, who put the ball in by the post, to seal the game at 2-1.

The Pioneers then traveled to neighboring NYIT to face off on Saturday, October 13. They did not waste any time in the first half as Niciforo put the Pioneers on the board early as sophomore midfielder Solveig Bjordal fed her the ball. Only three minutes later, freshman midfielder Hanna Westerling set freshman forward Susanne Vistnes up one on one with the goalie. Vistnes scored her thirteenth goal of the season as she found the back of the net.

It took another 60 minutes before another goal was scored in the game, when NYIT’s senior midfielder Natasha Arana cut the Pioneers’ lead in half. However, it did not take long before Vistnes scored her fourteenth goal of the season, when she found an openingby the near post, giving the Pioneers their third score of the evening.

Vistnes was delighted to get on the scoreboard again: “It was good to finally score some goals again, after I didn’t score earlier in the week,” said Vistnes. With14 goals and eight assists, she leads the Pioneers’ attack together with Niciforo, who has seven goals and seven assists on the season. “It looks like we have found a good link in the offense, between me, Alexa (Niciforo) and Hanna (Westerling), and it looks promising,” Vistnes said after the game. The Pioneers’ offense is one of strongest offenses in the country, as the trio has scored 28 out of the teams 37 goals so far.

The Pioneers are currently 11-1-1 for the season and boast a perfect 6-0-0 record in the conference. The team returns to action on Wednesday, October 17, as it travels to Rockville Centre to face off against Molloy College (4-5-1) in another ECC matchup.