The Pioneer Trail: Saturday, Mar. 14, 2015

3/14/2015 9:27:00 AM

Wrestling at Day 2 of NCAA Division II National Championships – 10 a.m.
Two years ago, the LIU Post wrestling team was a printed memory, lost to the archives of the athletic program as a whole. One year ago, the LIU Post wrestling team was announced as one of the new programs to debut and/or return in the 2014-15 season. This year, that very same wrestling squad fielded two NCAA national qualifiers and at the end of the second day of competition, the Pioneers will boast their first All-American wrestler in recent memory.
 
Freshman Joe Calderone (Huntington Station, N.Y.) can finish no worse than eighth place in Saturday's programming, meaning that he will receive All-American accolades. The 133-pound wrestler started his bracket by dropping an 8-4 decision to Ashland's Michael Labry, the No. 2-ranked grappler in the country. In the wrestlebacks, Calderone won by a 4-2 decision over San Francisco State's Jordan Gurrola before pinning Aldon Isenburg of Shorter in the second period (4:22). He will next face Nick Crume of Indianapolis in the quarterfinals of the consolation bracket.
 
Senior Chris DiIorio (Holtsville, N.Y.) qualified as the Super Region One champion of the 197-lb. weight class. DiIorio's tournament stay was unfortunately short-lived, as Northern State's Joe Gomez won by pinfall at 5:56. In the consolation bracket, Evan Rosborough of Lake Erie scored a pin over DiIorio in the third period (6:13) of their bout. Though the loss eliminated DiIorio from competition, the senior will keep his head held high as a regional champion and national qualifier.
 
No. 11 Softball vs. No. 14 Caldwell – 10 a.m.; at Saint Leo – 12 p.m.
One of Saturday's games features a non-regional matchup between the No. 11 LIU Post softball team and a Sunshine State Conference opponent hosting a tournament on their campus. The other game, maybe the best matchup of the Florida swing for the Pioneers, is a Super Region rematch from a season ago.
 
LIU Post (3-3) won their first two games against a regional opponent, sweeping a doubleheader against Dominican on Friday (Mar. 13) in Saint Leo, Fla. In the first game, senior pitcher Megan Salcido (Brawley, Calif.) and sophomore hurler Ashley Martin (Long Beach, N.Y.) combined on a four-hitter as the Pioneers upended the Chargers, 1-0. The lone run for the green and gold came in the first inning as junior designated player Paige Swantek (Smithtown, N.Y.) laced a single to left field scoring senior Catherine Havens (Eastport, N.Y.). Salcido pitched 4.2 innings, surrendering two hits and striking out one for her first win of the season.
 
In the latter half of the doubleheader, LIU Post utilized timely hitting and wild pitching to take an 8-4 victory over Dominican. Sophomore infielder Melissa Peet (Monroe, Conn.) opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first inning, but the Chargers answered back with three runs off of Pioneers starter Isabella Corrao (Farmingdale, N.Y.) in the second frame. The Pioneers tied the game in the third as sophomore outfielder Mackenzie Buckley (St. James, N.Y.) and senior catcher Aly Dzierzynski (Deer Park, N.Y.) scored on wild pitches. The score would be tied at 4 in the sixth, when Swantek clobbered a go-ahead RBI double to center field. LIU Post would add insurance in the seventh, as the Pioneers would load the bases only to have Havens clear them with a triple to left-center. Martin picked up the win in relief, allowing just two hits over 3.2 innings of work.
 
No. 14 Caldwell (1-1) and Saint Leo (19-7) faced each other on Friday (Mar. 13), with the Lions coming out on top by a 4-0 score. The Cougars were limited to just four hits as junior pitcher Alana Tabel (Loxahatchee, Fla.) pitched a complete game with six strikeouts over seven innings. Sophomore Lauren Frye (Jupiter, Fla.) had the only extra-base hit for Caldwell in the contest, with a double in the top half of the fifth inning. Prior to their match-up with Saint Leo, the Cougars defeated Queens (N.Y.) by a final score of 3-2.
 
Saint Leo scored two runs in the fourth inning off of Caldwell sophomore Sydney Ponto (West Deptford, N.J.) and two in the sixth against senior Sarah Almasy (Stratford, N.J.). Freshman shortstop Brittany Creamer (Clearwater, Fla.) clubbed a two-run home run---her third four-bagger of the year---in the bottom of the sixth inning for the Lions.
 
Women's Swimming at Day 4 of NCAA Division II National Championships – 10:30 a.m.
Cruising towards its best finish in an NCAA Division II National Championship, the LIU Post women's swimming team enters the last day of competition in eighth place. Four more events await the Pioneers as they conclude their Indianapolis adventure, and while the National Championship itself is out of reach, there are plenty of chances for the green and gold to make statements in the pool.
 
On Day 3, LIU Post grabbed 31 total points in three event finals, including a third-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly event. Junior Joyce Kwok (Middle Village, N.Y.) claimed the bronze medal in the event, clocking a time of 1:59.65. She has now placed in the top-3 in the 200-fly national championship race in each of the last three years, with two gold medals and a bronze to her trophy case.
 
Additionally, senior Carolin Rademacher (Isernhagen, Germany) continued a brilliant competition by placing sixth (1:02.92) in the 100-yard breaststroke. Including her performance in the 100-yard breaststroke, Rademacher has placed in the top-8 in three individual events and one relay event, earning All-American nods in all four disciplines. Rounding out the performances on the third day of competition was senior Johanna Pettersson (Kungalv, Sweden). Pettersson placed 15^th in the 100-yard backstroke event (56:42).
 
LIU Post will have four more chances to improve its standing on the last day of competition. Rademacher may provide the best opportunity in the 200-yard breaststroke, as she posted the fifth-fastest qualifying time all season across Division II. The Pioneers will also have competitors in the 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard backstroke races, as well as the 400-yard freestyle relay.
 
No. 2 Men's Lacrosse vs. No. 10 Molloy – 12 p.m.
The LIU Post men's lacrosse team has spent its week regrouping and licking their wounds after dropping their first contest of the year on Monday (Mar. 9). The team will look for a positive outcome on Saturday as they return to East Coast Conference action and also come home to Brookville for a date with tenth-ranked Molloy at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium. But the Pioneers must be mindful of the past, because they have an opportunity to gain redemption from a similar situation just 12 months ago.
 
No. 2 LIU Post (3-1, 1-0 ECC) was defeated by No. 3 Adelphi by a 13-11 score at Motamed Field in Garden City on Monday. The Pioneers opened the game by scoring the first two goals, but Adelphi would record seven of the next 10 tallies on the scoreboard. After going up 3-2 in the first quarter, the Panthers never trailed again, despite a furious LIU Post rally and a career outing from senior midfielder Connor Drost (Wading River, N.Y.). The 2014 Most Outstanding Player of the ECC Tournament scored a personal-best six goals on 14 shots for the Pioneers, who also sported a four-point (3G, 1A) performance from junior middie Anthony Berardis (Mahopac, N.Y.). Adelphi was able to hold junior attacker Matt Bellando (Miami, Fla.) to just one assist and limited both sophomore Matty Beccaris (North Babylon, N.Y.) and senior Chris Caiazza (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) to one goal each. Junior goalie Adam Winne (Ridgefield, Conn.) made a career-high 16 saves in the cage, but saw his season goals against average balloon to 7.31.
 
No. 10 Molloy (3-0, 2-0 ECC) is coming off of a 13-9 victory over Chestnut Hill on Sunday (Mar. 8) in Rockville Centre, N.Y. The Lions jumped out to leads of 4-1 after the first quarter and 10-5 after the third quarter on their way to dispatching the Griffins. Senior offensive midfielder Sal Geneva (Hicksville, N.Y.) had a hat trick for the maroon and white in the win. Four other players---including seniors Joe Leonard (Hicksville, N.Y.) and Tom Engelhardt (Bethpage, N.Y.)---added two goals each for Molloy, while freshman goalie Ryan Toomey (Hicksville, N.Y.) made eight saves in net to stop Chestnut Hill's attack.
 
When the two teams played last season, LIU Post had one loss going into the game courtesy of Adelphi. The Pioneers rallied back with a 15-2 win at Roberts Wesleyan, but suffered an 8-7 upset loss to Molloy in Rockville Centre on Mar. 22, 2014. In that contest, now-graduated goalie John Grebe helped the Lions with 16 saves in the cage to ground LIU Post's offense.
 
No. 8 Women's Lacrosse vs. No. 6 New Haven – 3:30 p.m.
Florida has been kind to the LIU Post women's lacrosse team thus far, as the Pioneers were able to rebound from an early-season loss to No. 4 Le Moyne by winning on Thursday (Mar. 12). The green and gold now faces a difficult test against a team that they defeated twice last year, including in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
No. 8 LIU Post (3-1, 1-0 ECC) took down Bentley by a score of 15-9 on Thursday at Disney's Wide World of Sports. Senior midfielder Jenna Pierro (Holbrook, N.Y.) put up her second seven-point game of the season, scoring five times and adding two assists in the victory. Sophomore attacker Stefani Vagelatos (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) made her presence known with a five-goal game, and red-shirt sophomore Emily Delaney (Long Valley, N.J.) added a hat trick and two assists. The Pioneers dominated the first half, outshooting the Falcons 12-6 in the opening stanza, collecting 21 total shots to Bentley's 14 in total. Freshman goalie Olivia Kirk (Farmingdale, N.Y.) made five saves en route to her first collegiate victory.
 
No. 6 New Haven (2-0, 1-0 NE-10) exercised total home domination in romping past AIC (20-1) last Saturday (Mar. 7) at Kayo Field. The Chargers put up 15 goals in the first half and limited their opponents to just two shots in the entire contest. Senior midfielder Kathryn Campbell (Mansfield, Mass.) collected a hat trick while sophomore attacker Caitlin O'Brien (Branford, Conn.) led the team with five points (3G, 2A). Senior attacker Ashley Travis (LaFayette, N.Y.) also scored three goals in the victory.
 
LIU Post got the better of New Haven in two meetings last season, including the NCAA Tournament first-round matchup in Brookville. The squads first met on Apr. 24, 2014 in West Haven, Conn., where the Pioneers scored three goals in the final three minutes to claim a 14-13 victory over an upset-minded Chargers club. The teams would meet in Brookville in the aforementioned NCAA Tournament, where LIU Post used a seven-goal first half to win by a comfortable 10-5 margin and knock New Haven out of the postseason competition.