BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – A dominating performance by the No. 2 seed LIU Post men's lacrosse team downed No. 3 seed New York Institute of Technology by a 15-4 final on Wednesday, May 1 at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium to earn a berth into the East Coast Conference title game.
The Green and Gold held a 54-30 edge in shot attempts, holding the Bears to just 15 shots on goal. NYIT goalkeeper Brian Jockers made a career-high 21 saves, but it was not enough to slow down the LIU Post offense. The Pioneers also held a 32-9 advantage in ground balls, led by senior
Connor Farrell who set a new NCAA Division II single-season record with his 253rd ground ball during the first half. Farrell posted 10 total ground balls and won 16-of-20 faceoff attempts.
Junior
Mike Kadnar led LIU Post with three goals and five other Pioneers tallied two goals. Sophomore
William Snelders finished with a team-best four points with two goals and two assists. On the defensive end, senior
P.J. Usak and redshirt-junior
John Harding caused two turnovers and senior
Bryan Ochs made 11 saves between the pipes.
It was all LIU Post from the beginning. Despite only leading by two goals (2-0) after the first quarter, the Pioneers continued to roll with five unanswered goals to begin the second quarter. NYIT tallied its first goal at the 5:04 mark of the second period before Kadnar scored with two minutes remaining to take an 8-1 lead into the locker room.
Snelders scored twice in less than 60 seconds early in the third quarter and Kadnar and freshman
Jake Gillis scored two goals in a matter of seconds late in the quarter to take a 10-goal lead (13-3) into the final quarter. The Green and Gold continued to control the game the rest of the way, advancing to the championship game for the second-consecutive season.
The Pioneers will take on No. 1 seed Mercy College at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 4 at President's Stadium on the campus of NYIT. Saturday's championship game will be a part of the NCAA Division II lacrosse showcase on NCAA.com. More information for the championship will be available on
www.liupostpioneers.com this week.