Newsday: Unbeaten C.W. Post fired up to face Dowling
By Steven Marcus
Newsday
Eight down and Dowling to go. The men's soccer team at C.W. Post knows its undefeated season and national ranking will face its severest test when the eighth-ranked Pioneers (8-0) play at Dowling (4-2-2) Saturday night.
"This is the week we've been looking forward to," said Post's Eirik Bjoernoe, a sophomore from Norway. "This is the week we've been training for."
Dowling has been to the Final Four six times and won the NCAA Division II title in 2006. Post has never made it beyond the quarterfinals and is vying for its best record since going 16-1-3 in 1993.
"They are the powerhouse in Division II, Long Island and New York," Post coach Andreas Lindberg said of the Golden Lions. "Everybody talks about Dowling. That's our motivation, to change that."
Dowling is well aware of Post, too.
"I think this game is really important, since we've had a rocky start," senior midfielder Corey Desmond said. "We're looking for this game to just pick us back up and get us going on that winning streak that we usually get into this time of the season. Every year they come at us and it's always an intense game, it's always a battle no matter what."
Post is led by freshman forward Eivind Austboe, also from Norway. He already has nine goals. "This has been great for my confidence," he said. "When you come to a new country, you don't know how the level is. To be honest, I'm learning every day. We've got some phenomenal strikers. They've given me some great crosses."
Bjoernoe, who helped recruit Austboe to Post, said, "He has this gift. He can just score goals from all over the place."
Lindberg said the players from Norway are adapting well to the program.
"The Norwegian players are very hard-working, they buy into the concept," he said. "They fit in well on the field and off the field."
Cemil Turan, who has seven goals, said of the Norwegian players, "They are hungry for soccer. Soccer, soccer, soccer and school. Nothing else."
Lindberg is pleased with the effort so far, but knows the Dowling game will define the regular season, saying, "It's the one game that we highlight and circle the first day of preseason. They know it's the biggest game."
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