The Pioneer Trail: Thursday, Mar. 19, 2015

3/19/2015 11:31:00 AM

No. 19 Softball vs. Southern Connecticut – 2 p.m., 4 p.m.
Weather has wreaked havoc on the LIU Post softball season since the team's return from a Florida swing. The Pioneers saw their home opening doubleheader with Le Moyne wiped out due to poor field conditions, and had a date with Adelphi postponed thanks in large part to a snowstorm that day. Today, LIU Post will look to benefit from a change in schedule, as Southern Connecticut comes to Brookville for a doubleheader that was originally set to take place in West Haven, Conn.

No. 19 LIU Post (3-5) dropped a 10-5 contest to No. 22 Caldwell on Saturday (Mar. 14) in the Saint Leo Tournament before losing a 14-1 affair to the tournament hosts in the Sunshine State. On the day, junior designated player Paige Swantek (Smithtown, N.Y.) had a team-best three hits in six plate appearances, hitting an RBI double in the second inning of the team's matchup with Caldwell. In that contest, LIU Post held a 5-0 lead through four innings before the Cougars put up a seven-run frame in the bottom of the fourth, chasing sophomore pitcher Ashley Martin (Long Beach, N.Y.). In the loss to Saint Leo, the Pioneers mustered just two hits, with senior outfielder Catherine Havens (Eastport, N.Y.) collecting a run-scoring double in the third inning. The Lions achieved a 12-run fourth inning off of senior pitchers Nicole Ehlinger (Hauppauge, N.Y.) and Megan Salcido (Brawley, Calif.) to win via the mercy rule.

Southern Connecticut (3-6) also lost both halves of a doubleheader on Monday (Mar. 16), to Minnesota-Duluth (15-8) and Sioux Falls (7-1). Against Minnesota-Duluth, the Owls led 8-4 after three innings before the Bulldogs roared back with 11 runs over the final three frames. Senior infielder Kelly Mitchell (Seymour, Conn.) clobbered a three-run homerun for Southern Connecticut and sophomore outfielder Samantha Peltier (Sutton, Mass.) had three hits for the Owls. Against Sioux Falls, sophomore infielder Giuliana D'Arcangelo (Brookfield, Conn.) led the team with two hits.
 
No. 8/11 Women's Lacrosse vs. Philadelphia – 3 p.m.
The LIU Post women's lacrosse team is finding out the hard way that the North Region of Division II lacrosse has become more treacherous and difficult in the 2015 campaign. There are more good teams in the region, and the Pioneers are no longer the standard-bearer for lacrosse north of the Mason-Dixon Line. That being said, more opportunities to take down both conference and non-conference regional opponents line the upcoming schedule for the green and gold, beginning with Thursday's match-up with the Rams of Philadelphia at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium.
 
No. 8/11 LIU Post (3-2, 1-0 ECC) dropped a tight 11-9 contest to No. 4 New Haven on Saturday (Mar. 14) in a game played in Melbourne, Fla. The Pioneers held a 3-0 lead in the first half thanks to a pair of goals from sophomore attacker Stefani Vagelatos (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) and a tally from junior midfielder Honey Roche (Centerport, N.Y.). It would be a 5-2 advantage at the halftime break for the green and gold, but New Haven scored nine goals in the second frame to overcome the deficit and claim the victory. Freshman goalkeeper Olivia Kirk (Farmingdale, N.Y.) made eight saves in cage for the Pioneers, while Vagelatos led the team with a hat trick on three shots. Sophomores Cara Douglas (West Islip, N.Y.) and Connor Bird (Syosset, N.Y.) scored a pair of goals each for LIU Post in the loss.
 
Senior middie Jenna Pierro (Holbrook, N.Y.) is the team's leader with 16 goals and 23 points overall. Vagelatos and Douglas have a combined 21 goals between the two of them on the season, while red-shirt sophomore attacker Emily Delaney (Long Valley, N.J.) is the team's best distributor with 10 assists. Kirk currently holds a .531 save percentage in net for LIU Post, and she also sports an 8.12 goals against average.
 
Philadelphia (1-3) needed overtime to topple Kutztown, 15-11, on Wednesday (Mar. 18) in "The City of Brotherly Love." The game proved to be a contest based on runs, as the Rams watched their opponents score six straight goals to open the game. Philadelphia then notched a seven-goal comeback over the next sixteen-plus minutes of play stretched over the first and second halves of action. After Kutztown retook an 11-10 lead, junior midfielder Elizabeth Seitzinger (Schnecksville, Pa.) knotted the contest at 11 with her fourth goal of the game. The affair would go to overtime, and the Rams would take advantage of the rules of the extra periods to score four goals and hold their opponents off the score sheet for the victory.
 
Sophomore middie Isabella DiGnazio (Pittsburgh, Pa.) was credited with the game-winning goal in the first overtime session, her third on the afternoon. Senior midfielder Lauren Hartman (Sewell, N.J.) added a hat trick for the Rams while attackers Corrine Etter (Millville, N.J.) and Liz Mower (Harleysville, Pa.) totaled four goals, with each player scoring two on her own. Sophomore goalie Maria Matteis (Dix Hills, N.Y.) made 12 saves in cage for Philadelphia.
 
This will be the first matchup between LIU Post and Philadelphia since Mar. 5, 2013. In a contest played at Ravenhill Field, the Pioneers notched a 19-3 takedown of Philadelphia, thanks to a nine-assist performance from now-graduate assistant coach Jackie Sileo.