Vistnes-Westerling Duo Lifts Women's Soccer Over Wilmington, 5-0
Box Score
WILMINGTON, Del. (Oct. 22, 2013) - On Tuesday, sophomore forward Susanne Vistnes (Randaberg, Norway) got a hat trick, while sophomore midfielder Hanna Westerling (Alvadalen, Sweden) notched two goals, as the LIU Post women's soccer team trampled Wilmington, 5-0, at the WU Athletics Complex in Wilmington, Del.
Thought she hit the post just 4:09 into the opening half, Vistnes put the Pioneers on the board with 6:33 elapsed. Sophomore back Katie LaManna (Smithtown, N.Y.) sent a ball into a scrum in the box, which Vistnes headed home for the game's first goal.
LIU Post (11-3), which outshot Wilmington (5-8-1) by an overwhelming 32-5 count in the match, would double its lead before the intermission. Westerling found a wide-open net, off a Vistnes rebound, on the play.
Five-plus minutes into the latter 45-minute session, Vistnes scored again. She re-directed an Alexa Niciforo (East Islip, N.Y.) cross-pass into the mesh, making it a 3-0 contest.
Then, in the 66th minute, the Randaberg, Norway native secured her second career hat trick. She put a six-yard shot past Wildcats' junior netminder Julia Brown (Medford, N.J.) to widen the green and gold's advantage to a four-goal margin. Brown finished with a game-high 15 saves.
Nearly 10 minutes later, Westerling capped off the scoring for the afternoon, when she punched in a Heidi Eikeland (Kragero, Norway) feed from the doorstep. The multi-goal effort was the first of her collegiate career.
In net, sophomore keeper Katelyn Phillips (Littleton, Colo.) stopped one shot for LIU Post, which also owned an 8-2 edge in corner kicks.
Head Coach Mark Dawson and the Pioneers are back in action Saturday (Oct. 26), when they face East Coast Conference rival Mercy in a battle for second place in the league standings. Kickoff is set for noon.