Brookville, N.Y. - Tied 1-1 at the fringe of
overtime, senior midfielder Jonathon Watkin (Doncaster, England)
scored with 2.8 seconds left to propel the 14th-ranked and
top-seeded LIU Post men's soccer team to a thrilling 2-1 win versus
fourth-seeded Mercy in an ECC Championship semifinal Wednesday in
Brookville, N.Y.
With his left foot, Watkin fired a shot off the outstretched hand
of Mavericks' (11-4-4) sophomore goalkeeper Nick Papas (Castleton,
N.Y.) for the game-winner. The play originated off an Eivind
Austboe (Stavanger, Norway) rebound.
Just over a minute prior to that goal, freshman forward Michael
Ledesma (Miami Beach, Fla.) had a golden opportunity to put Mercy
in front. As he tried to flick the ball over the head of LIU Post
senior netminder Marco Jorgensen (Copenhagen, Denmark), the
six-foot-two goalie used every inch of that frame to catch the shot
in mid-air.
Jorgensen stopped all five shots on net in the latter 45-minute
session to keep the contest tied at 1-1. He rounded out the
afternoon with seven saves.
In the first half, the Mavericks used just 5:08 to take the early
lead. Ledesma finished into the top shelf on a one-timer, off a
cross from the near right wing by Ransmond Aboagye (Bronx,
N.Y.).
Nine-plus minutes later, the Pioneers (16-1-2) answered with the
equalizer. Austboe struck from point-blank range, on a tic-tac-toe
setup with Watkin and sophomore midfielder Per Forgaard (Stavanger,
Norway).
For the match, both squads attempted 19 shots apiece. LIU Post also
owned a commanding 9-2 edge in corner kicks.
Head Coach Andreas Lindberg and the Pioneers now await their
opponent in Friday's (Nov. 8) ECC Championship final. They will
face either second-seeded Bridgeport or third-seeded Dowling. The
opening kick is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Provided by the LIU Post Sports Information Department.
