Erie, Pa. - On Friday morning, the
eighth-ranked and top-seeded LIU Post men's soccer team's 2013
season came to a bitter finish, losing by a result of 3-1 to No. 1
and second-seeded Southern New Hampshire in the third round of the
NCAA Division II Championship in Erie, Pa.
The Pioneers (18-2-2) drew first blood in the contest, however, in
the 23rd minute. Sophomore midfielder Matias Ruiz (Southampton,
N.Y.), from right of the box, sent a cross to the far post for
fellow sophomore Per Forgaard (Stavanger, Norway), who headed a
shot home to give LIU Post the early lead.
The Penmen didn't take long to respond, tallying the equalizer only
2:45 later. Off a corner kick by Jonathan Lupinelli (Mont de
Marsan, France), sophomore back Dominic Samuel (Toronto, Ontario,
Canada) found the inside of the right post, evening things up at
1-apiece.
Despite SNHU (20-1) outshooting the opposition 10-4 in the opening
45 minutes of play, the two squads headed into the locker room in a
1-1 stalemate.
Four-plus minutes into the latter half, Samuel struck again for the
Penmen, which proved to be the game-winning tally. Much like his
first goal, the Toronto native headed in another corner, this time
from Christian Rodriguez (Manchester, N.H.).
The top team in the country added one more marker in the last
minute-and-a-half for good measure. Pierre Omanga (Paris, France)
accounted for it.
LIU Post, on the other hand, could not muster much offense in the
second period. It was limited to just three shots, only one of
which was on net.
Between the pipes, senior keeper Marco Jorgensen (Copenhagen,
Denmark) totaled a season-high 11 saves. His counterpart, Dom
DiMaggio (Rome, N.Y.), stopped two attempts.
Provided by the LIU Post Sports Information Department.
