Austboe Strikes Again as No. 3 Men's Soccer Bests Wilmington, 3-1
Box Score
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (Sept. 12, 2013) - Knotted at 1-all with under seven minutes to go in regulation, junior forward Eivind Austboe (Stavanger, Norway) netted the eventual game-winning goal, sending the third-ranked LIU Post men's soccer team to a 3-1 win over No. 22 Wilmington Thursday at the Purple Knight Classic in Bridgeport, Conn. He also assisted on an insurance tally four-plus minutes after scoring the go-ahead marker.
Though neither squad found the back of the net in the opening 45 minutes of play, the Pioneers (3-0) and Wildcats (2-1) saved the show for the end. The two teams combined for four goals over the final 17:56.
LIU Post was the first to strike. At the 72:04 mark, sophomore midfielder Per Forgaard (Stavanger, Norway) fed senior midfielder Jonathon Watkin (Doncaster, England) with a through ball up the middle of the pitch. Watkin subsequently found the back of the mesh to give LIU Post a late 1-0 cushion. The tally was his first of the 2013 campaign.
But, Wilmington evened things up just over two minutes later. Sophomore back Lance Berry (Bear, Del.) converted for his third goal of the year, which tied things up at 1-apiece.
The Pioneers would have the final say though, and secure their third-consecutive victory. In the 84th minute, Austboe, who entered the contest with a game-winner in each of the first two contests, put the green and gold in front for good. On the play, senior back Eirik Bjoernoe (Stavanger, Norway) sent a cross-pass from right of the box for an Austboe volley on the left.
Austboe wasn't done, however. With 87:34 elapsed, he and freshman forward Johann Kristjansson (Reykjavik, Iceland) teamed up for the second time in 2013 (Sept. 5 vs. Concordia) to make it a 3-1 game.
In net, LIU Post senior keeper Marco Jorgensen (Copenhagen, Denmark) made a game-high nine saves. Meanwhile, junior Spyros Stergiotis (Oakville, Ontario) and sophomore Frank Hall (Newark, Del.) combined for seven stops for Wilmington.
Overall, the Pioneers owned a 22-18 edge in shots, and a favorable 7-2 margin in corner kicks. Senior forward Cemil Turan (Staten Island, N.Y.) paced all LIU Post players with five shots (two SOG) on the day.
Head Coach Andreas Lindberg and the Pioneers return to the field Saturday (Sept. 14), when they round out play at the Purple Knight Classic versus Bloomfield. The opening kick is set for 4 p.m.