BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (May 21, 2015) - On Monday, the LIU Post men's soccer team was awarded a share of the East Coast Conference Sportsmanship Award with the men's soccer team from NYIT, despite the schools being bitter rivals on the field.

The ECC Sportsmanship Award is presented to the team or individual that best exemplifies the spirit of sportsmanship and has conducted themselves with a high degree of integrity, character and class as displayed by a single action or ongoing behavior during a season.

The Pioneers and Bears met numerous times on the field this past year, including in the ECC Championship game and the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The teams did not win the award for anything that occurred when they faced off on the pitch, however.

The story begins at the NCAA Tournament when the two teams ended up in the same hotel in New Hampshire. Both teams ran into each other in the hotel, where LIU Post student-athletes congratulated NYIT on beating them to win the ECC title a few days prior. After LIU Post ended up winning the re-match in the NCAA Tournament, the teams were cordial with each other in the hotel once again and talked about what a great game they had just played.

Days later and back in New York, a large group from NYIT's team gathered to watch a webstream of LIU Post against defending national champion, Southern New Hampshire. LIU Post made an amazing comeback to win in penalty kicks, and in a video that made the rounds on social media, NYIT players can be seen happily celebrating the Pioneers' victory.

After the game, LIU Post team members saw the video on Facebook and contacted the NYIT players to tell them how classy a gesture it was to root for their fierce rivals in such a big game. LIU Post Head Coach, Andreas Lindberg, echoed that sentiment in a letter he sent to NYIT Head Coach, Carlos Delcid, in which he thanked NYIT for its support.

While sportsmanship in all conference sports, including soccer continues to be a focus for the conference and all schools around the country, the ECC was pleased to recognize these teams for putting aside their fierce rivalry in the name of being good sports.

After reaching the ECC Championships in all 16 of its sponsored sports, the LIU Post Department of Athletics was awarded its third-consecutive East Coast Conference Commissioner's Cup Monday night at the league's awards banquet at the University of Bridgeport.