The Pioneer Trail: Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014
Men's Soccer vs. Dowling - 3:30 p.m.
A recent four-match winning streak has the LIU Post men's soccer team in the hunt for the top spot in the East Coast Conference standings. Today, the Pioneers welcome in league rival Dowling to Pioneer Soccer Park for a matinee affair.
LIU Post (8-3-1, 4-1-1 ECC) knocked off ECC foe Bridgeport, 2-0, on Saturday (Oct. 11) to pick up its fourth-consecutive victory. Senior forward Eivind Austboe (Stavanger, Norway) scored the opening goal for the green and gold, while junior forward Alfred Lindberg (Grabo, Sweden) netted his first career tally to provide the insurance marker. Junior keeper Jesper Malmstrom (Linkopping, Sweden) recorded his fifth shutout performance on the season, a statistic which leads all goalies in the East Coast Conference.
Austboe is currently at or near the top of the conference leaderboard in goals (11) and points (24). The senior's 11 goals are eighth-best in the nation.
The Golden Lions (6-4-1, 3-2 ECC) have not stepped onto the field in 10 days, after a 2-1 loss at the hands of Molloy on Oct. 4. Sophomore forward Sean Collins (Leeds, United Kingdom) came up with the lone goal for Dowling in the effort. Collins has found the back of the net three times on the season, while junior forward Mike Gronenthal (Levittown, N.Y.) is the leading goal-scorer with six. Senior back Raffaele Sorbara (Lynbrook, N.Y.) boasts a team-high six assists.
Field Hockey vs. Southern Connecticut State - 4 p.m.
The LIU Post field hockey team has outscored its last four opponents by a combined ledger of 18-4, and the Pioneers (6-1, 2-0 NE-10) are winners of four in a row. The green and gold will face Northeast-10 Conference opponent Southern Connecticut State (2-6, 0-1 NE-10) at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium today.
LIU Post came out victorious in its last outing, a 4-2 win over Merrimack on Saturday (Oct. 11). Graduate defender Dani Crouse (Westville, South Africa) got the Pioneers on the board in the first three minutes and forwards Kaycee Zelkovsky (Lambertville, N.J.) and Lyn-Marie Wilson (Bridgetown, Barbados, W.I.) also tallied goals in the victory. The offensive output was capped by a milestone goal, as freshman defender Grace Ilias (Oakville, Ontario, Canada) slotted her first collegiate marker into the cage.
Junior forward Keliann Margiotta (Sewell, N.J.) leads the Pioneers with 14 goals and 34 points on the season. Her 2.00 goals-per-game average and 4.71 points-per-game average are the best among all Division II field hockey players. Sophomore goalkeeper Ericka Parks (Nesconset, N.Y.) owns a 5-0 record and a 0.88 goals-against average, which ranks fourth among all goalies.
The Owls waited until the last 90 seconds to pull out a 1-0 victory over Mercy last Wednesday (Oct. 8) in Dobbs Ferry. Freshman forward Emma Farrel (Cheshire, Conn.) scored the game-winner and junior goalie Audrey Dolloff (Raynham, Mass.) made five saves in the win. Sophomore forwards Bailey McGinnis (North Branford, Conn.) and Kristi Montemurro (New Milford, Conn.) have notched four goals apiece to pace Southern Connecticut.
Volleyball at NYIT - 7 p.m.
In the first meeting between these two rivals last month, NYIT took a four-set victory away from LIU Post. The re-match of the "Battle of the Boulevard" sees both teams hungry for a win to keep their hopes of an East Coast Conference postseason berth alive, as the squads will meet this time at Recreation Hall on the campus of NYIT.
The Pioneers (10-10, 5-3 ECC) are winners of their last two matches, both of them coming via three-set sweeps. Freshman outside hitter Danielle Valenza (Hauppauge, N.Y.) led the green and gold to a victory over Daemen on Sunday (Oct. 12) with 10 kills, while junior setter Monica Amador (Cedar Park, Texas) contributed 25 assists to the team's effort. Amador and senior right-side hitter Heather Adams (Centerville, Ohio) each collected seven kills. Graduate student Katie Hudencial (Mechanicsville, N.J.) accrued 11 digs for the Pioneers.
Valenza has been the main weapon on offense for LIU Post, leading the team with 219 kills. The freshman has also amassed 149 digs, a statistic led by junior libero Rachel Ringor (Honolulu, Hawaii), who has 249 digs to anchor the team.
Meanwhile, the Bears (9-12, 5-3 ECC) defeated Daemen in three sets on Saturday (Oct. 11) to snap a seven-match losing skid. Freshman outside hitter Emily Mankowski (Naperville, Ill.) led the way with 15 kills and 11 digs. Mankowski also paced the team with five service aces. Freshman setter Allison Fowler (Centennial, Colo.) dished out a match-high 37 assists.
The freshmen rule the statistical categories for NYIT so far this season as Mankowski's 230 kills and Fowler's 472 assists are both team-highs. Junior libero Becky Syers (East Meadow, N.Y.) has been the defensive leader for the Bears with a squad-leading 322 digs.