The Pioneer Trail: Wednesday, Mar. 4, 2015

3/4/2015 10:13:00 AM

Women's Lacrosse vs. Mercy - 3 p.m.
Any doubts about whether the No. 4 LIU Post women's lacrosse team would have enough offense in the post-Jackie Sileo era were quickly erased on Saturday, as the Pioneers took down Holy Family at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium. Now, the green and gold will welcome in conference foe Mercy and look to start the season with a two-game winning streak.

LIU Post (1-0) was led by 11 combined goals from three players---senior midfielder Jenna Pierro (Holbrook, N.Y.), junior defensive midfielder Honey Roche (Centerport, N.Y.) and red-shirt sophomore attacker Emily Delaney (Long Valley, N.J.)---in a 16-3 mauling of the Tigers on Saturday (Feb. 28). Delaney and Roche scored four goals, while Pierro added three goals and three assists in the victory. The Pioneers asserted dominance after Holy Family scored the game's first goal, as the green and gold notched 12 unanswered tallies to put the game away early. Sophomore middie Connor Bird (Syosset, N.Y.) scored twice, added two assists, and was a force on the draw controls all game for LIU Post. The Pioneers enjoyed a 14-7 advantage on draws, with Pierro and senior defender Kali Maxwell (Colorado Springs, Colo.) each winning four on the afternoon. Junior goalie Kasey Kephart (Nesconset, N.Y.) made two saves in earning her first collegiate victory, while freshman netminder Olivia Kirk (Farmingdale, N.Y.) made three saves in her near 12 minutes of work.

Mercy (1-0) opened its season with a 15-10 victory over American International on Monday (Mar. 2) in Springfield, Mass. The Mavericks opened the first half on a 9-2 run as three different Nicoles ended the game with 14 of Mercy's 15 goals. Freshman attacker Nicole Kleet (Huntington Station, N.Y.) and junior attacker Nicole Augustine (Kingston, N.Y.) scored six goals each while red-shirt senior middie Nicole Kline (Deer Park, N.Y.) scored twice in the victory. Mercy won in spite of its inability to take draw controls, as AIC led that statistic by an 18-8 margin. Sophomore goalie Jillian Rocco (Dix Hills, N.Y.) stopped two shots in the first half for the win, and freshman Cara Moran (Tomkins Cove, N.Y.) made five saves in the second half for Mercy.

The previous match-up between LIU Post and Mercy resulted in a 23-1 win for the Pioneers back on Mar. 19, 2014 in Brookville, N.Y. Now-graduated seniors Samantha Losco and Jackie Sileo combined for eight goals and 18 points, while now-sophomores Stefani Vagelatos (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) and Cara Douglas (West Islip, N.Y.) added hat tricks for the green and gold in the win.

Women's Basketball at NYIT in ECC Championship First Round - 4 p.m.
As if by poetic justice, the LIU Post women's basketball team will have a third crack at its Northern Boulevard rivals this season, as the Pioneers visit NYIT today at 4 p.m. This contest, however, will decide more than just the Boulevard Series; the winner will advance to face top-seeded UDC in the East Coast Conference semifinals on Saturday.

LIU Post (17-11, 13-7 ECC) is coming off of a nationally-televised upset of Roberts Wesleyan on Sunday (Mar. 1), defeating the Redhawks 69-61 at the Pratt Recreation Center. The Pioneers completed the wire-to-wire victory by taking advantage of a sluggish Roberts offense and grabbing as much as a 17-point lead in the first half. After the Redhawks made it a seven-point contest, the green and gold defense bent but did not break as Roberts was unable to go out in front, leading to the Pioneers' victory.

Senior guard Chelsea Williams (Copiague, N.Y.)---as she has done for most of the season---led the Pioneers in scoring with a game-high 25 points. Williams was 8-for-18 from the floor and hit critical free throws down the stretch of the second half to ice the game. Junior center Nyasia Davis (Rahway, N.J.) had her 17th double-double of the season, with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Senior guard Ashley Castle (Brooklyn, N.Y.) poured in 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while sophomore guard/forward Essence Casey (Huntington Station, N.Y.) continued her strong play as of late, scoring seven points, pulling down eight boards and adding five assists.

NYIT (18-10, 13-7 ECC) dominated Daemen on Saturday (Feb. 28), running the Wildcats off the floor with an 88-59 win in Old Westbury. Five players scored in double-figures for the Bears, led by senior forward Dina Ragab (Cairo, Egypt), who poured in 18 points off the bench. Sophomore guard Shanice Allen (Riverhead, N.Y.) added 15 points, while senior forward Savannah Donarski (Powell, Wyo.) had 14 points and eight rebounds on Senior Day. The Bears capitalized on 27 Daemen turnovers in the win to score 36 points off those Wildcat miscues.

The season series between LIU Post and NYIT is split, as the Pioneers won the first contest on Jan. 20 in Brookville, by a 70-63 overtime scoreline. In that game, Castle and Casey combined for 31 points off the bench as the green and gold held Ragab to a 3-for-19 shooting performance in the win. At the time, the loss was NYIT's first defeat in East Coast Conference play. On Feb. 22, the Bears got their revenge, overwhelming LIU Post by a score of 100-70 in Old Westbury. This time, Ragab had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and sophomore forward Shannon Duer (Islip, N.Y.) had a game-high 22 points. For the Pioneers, Williams, Davis and Castle combined for 50 points on a 15-for-46 shooting performance from the field.

NYIT won the tiebreaker over LIU Post by virtue of their head-to-head split with No. 1 UDC this season. LIU Post lost both contests to the Firebirds in conference action.

Men's Basketball vs. Molloy in ECC Championship First Round - 7:30 p.m.
A matchup between 4-5 seeds in the East Coast Conference men's basketball tournament is always a high-drama affair, but when those two teams are LIU Post and Molloy, the action tends to get even more heated. Tonight, the teams will tangle at the Pratt Recreation Center, with the winner to face top-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas on Saturday in the ECC Championship semifinals.

LIU Post (16-12, 11-9 ECC) was headed for Rockville Centre, until a last-second jumper by senior guard P.J. Torres (New Rochelle, N.Y.) catapulted the Pioneers to a 65-64 win over Roberts Wesleyan on Sunday (Mar. 1) in Brookville. The Pioneers roared past the Redhawks in the first half, heading to the locker room with a 40-29 lead, before Roberts stormed back in the second half and took a one-point lead on a lay-up by sophomore forward Kevin Madiamba (Romont, Switzerland) with just over a minute to go. Lockdown defense on both sides of the ball set the stage for Torres and his dramatics, as a three-point attempt by Marcus Gooding (Brooklyn, N.Y.) fell short as time expired.

In the win, Torres tied fellow senior Tyuan Williams (Newark, N.J.) and junior guard Devon McMillan (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with a team-high 13 points. Williams led the Pioneers with seven rebounds, while junior point guard Dillon Burns (Staten Island, N.Y.) had a team-best six assists in the win. Sophomore forward Greg Dotson (Abington, Pa.) added nine points off the bench. The green and gold won despite their struggles from the free-throw line, going just 9-of-21 (42.8 percent) from the charity stripe in the game. 

Molloy (16-12, 11-9 ECC) utilized a 51-point second half to blow by Dowling on Saturday (Feb. 28), en route to an 87-64 smashing of the Golden Lions at Quealy Gymnasium. Four starters combined for 66 points in the win, led by a 19-point performance from senior guard Matt McLeod (Greenlawn, N.Y.). Sophomore guard Jaylen Morris (Amherst, N.Y.) pitched in with a double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds) and senior forward Richard Zoller (Syosset, N.Y.) added 16 points and seven rebounds. The Lions outmuscled Dowling in the paint, scoring 52 points and yielding just 26 points inside the blocks. Junior guard Brandon Williams (Baldwin, N.Y.) dished out a team-high five assists in addition to his 14 points.

The season series was split between the two squads, with both teams getting wins away from home. Molloy grabbed a 61-59 win at the Pratt Recreation Center on Jan. 10, thanks to a driving lay-up by Jaylen Morris with two-tenths of a second to play. LIU Post took advantage of an uncharacteristic off night for Molloy (24-36, 66.7%) at the free-throw line to net a 61-56 win at Quealy Gymnasium on Feb. 18. LIU Post earned the tie-breaker over Molloy by virtue of its win over St. Thomas Aquinas earlier in the season.