Men's Soccer Falls to Merrimack, 3-2, in Double Overtime
Box Score BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (Sept. 11, 2014) - After being forced to play down a man for the final 28 minutes of regulation, the LIU Post men's soccer team suffered a 3-2 double-overtime loss to Merrimack in the opening game of the 2014 UB Men's Soccer Classic in Bridgeport.
The match between the Pioneers (1-2) and the Warriors (3-0) featured a lot of physical play, leading to 31 total fouls, seven yellow cards and two red cards, both on LIU Post. In the 73rd minute, LIU Post back
Seb Baxter (Saffron Walden, England) was given two yellow cards following a loose-ball collision with a Merrimack player, resulting in a red card, forcing the Pioneers to play a man down for the remaining time. In the 105th minute, junior midfielder
Alex Billington (Preston, England) was also shown a red card.
The Pioneers took a 1-0 lead just before halftime, when senior forward
Eivind Austboe (Stavanger, Norway) found the back of the net off an assist from freshman
Jason Lampkin (Hawardon, North Wales, UK). The tally marks the fifth of the season for the senior from Norway. At the break, LIU Post held an 8-5 advantage in shots and a 6-1 edge in corner kicks.
The lead wouldn't last, however, as the Warriors (3-0) tied the match in the 62nd minute when Michael Rincon capitalized on a turnover by LIU Post junior goalkeeper
Jesper Malmstrom (Linkopping, Sweden). Just under three minutes later, Lampkin found junior midfielder
Per Forgaard (Stavanger, Norway) off a cross to give the green and gold a 2-1 lead. Later, in the 73rd minute, Julio Leon Garcia converted a free kick to tie the game at 2-apiece.
The teams would battle until the final whisle, with the Pioneers getting a scoring chance just as time ran out in regulation. With under a minute left, midfielder
Tom Bowen (Aberdovey, Wales, UK) got behind the Warrior defense but was unable to direct his chip shot on target, sending the game into overtime.
In the first extra session, Merrimack was able to get off a shot with under two minutes to go, but Malmstrom made one of his four saves to send the contest into a second 10-minute overtime period. It was then that the Warriors were able to break through, scoring in the 105th minute and capturing the 3-2 win in double overtime.
Head Coach
Andreas Lindberg and the Pioneers return to action on Saturday (Sept. 13), when they take on Bloomfield at the 2014 UB Men's Soccer Classic in Bridgeport. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m.