BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Sept. 6, 2014) - Leading 35-23 nearly halfway through the fourth quarter, the LIU Post football team allowed 21 unanswered points, en route to a season-opening 43-35 loss to East Stroudsburg Saturday at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium in Brookville, N.Y.

Despite falling behind for the first time since the score was 14-7, the Pioneers (0-1) tried to muster a game-tying drive in the last 2:23 of regulation. Starting at his own 28-yard line, LIU Post red-shirt senior quarterback Steven Laurino (Boise, Idaho) led a downfield assault of six straight completed passes to get inside the red zone, the last of which was a nine-yard strike to red-shirt freshman wideout Kyle Ward (Elizabeth, N.J.) at the East Stroudsburg 10 on a 4th-and-2.

With first-and-goal at the 10-yard line, Laurino scampered for seven yards to the ESU 3. But, with three downs to get three yards, a string of three consecutive Laurino incompletions forced a turnover on downs and sealed the win for the Warriors (1-0).

In the opening half of the contest, the green and gold trailed by a TD early in the second quarter. Starting at their own one-yard line, Laurino anchored an eight-play, 99-yard drive that resulted in an 11-yard pass to Ward in the end zone for his first collegiate touchdown. That evened the score at 14-all with 7:01 remaining before halftime. 

The Warriors would bring a six-point edge (20-14) into the break, however, as red-shirt junior signal-caller Matt Soltes (Vernon, N.J.) found classmate Jon Schnaars (Harrisburg, Pa.) on a 24-yard TD strike up the middle of the field. Freshman kicker Matt Smith (Brightwaters, N.Y.) would push the ensuing extra-point attempt wide.

The third quarter was all Pioneers. After red-shirt senior linebacker Anthony Brunetti (Bayville, N.Y.) forced a fumble on ESU's opening possession of the second half, red-shirt sophomore tailback Mike Williams (Hicksville, N.Y.) battled his way over the goal line on a 25-yard rush just two plays into the hosts' drive, giving them a 21-20 lead.

East Stroudsburg would go back in front 23-21 on its next series, via a 25-yard field goal by Smith, but LIU Post answered right back. A subsequent 11-play, 72-yard drive concluded with a five-yard pass from Laurino to red-shirt sophomore wideout Shane Hubbard (St. Albans, N.Y.), making it a 28-23 game. Hubbard finished the contest with a game-high 142 yards receiving on 10 catches.

The green and gold weren't done there. One LIU drive later, a 16-yard strike to junior tight end Sean Binckes (Brooklyn, N.Y.) on a 2nd-and-15 was the tablesetter for a Laurino two-yard keeper for a touchdown. Hubbard drew a pass interference call on ESU's Konrad Mims (Trenton, N.J.) to set the Pioneers up at the two-yard line.

In the final 15-minute session, LIU Post got a key turnover on downs at their own 25. Yet, a lightning delay soon halted play for over an hour, and swung the momentum in the other direction. Once play resumed, the Warriors went on a streak of 21 unanswered points, and re-took the lead (43-35) for good.

Laurino was 28-for-43 in the game with 351 yards passing and two touchdowns. Williams rushed for 76 yards on 15 carries, and added a score. In addition to Hubbard's performance, Ward chipped in six completions for 67 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, junior Jhaleel Oswald (Rosedale, N.Y.) made a team-best 11 tackles in his Pioneer debut. Brunetti had seven tackles and a forced fumble. Senior Roger Hamilton (Brooklyn, N.Y.) recorded seven tackles as well.

Red-shirt senior Dan Belfiore (Glen Cove, N.Y.) and red-shirt junior Brandon Cheney (Hewlett, N.Y.) collected six tackles apiece. Red-shirt sophomore Kenny Scotland (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) sacked the quarterback twice and registered two tackles for a loss.

Head Coach Bryan Collins and his LIU Post squad return to the gridiron next Saturday (Sept. 13), when they host New Haven in their 2014 Northeast-10 Conference opener. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.