Central Islip, N.Y. - The LIU Post men’s
soccer team has been picked as the favorite to win a third straight
ECC Championship in 2014 as voted upon by the league’s
coaches. Seniors Eivind Austboe (Stavanger, Norway) of LIU
Post and Christoffer Olesen (Kristiansand, Norway) of Bridgeport
have earned the ECC Preseason Offensive and Defensive Player of the
Year awards, respectively.
LIU Post, who claimed their second straight ECC Championship and
third title in the past five years last season, was nearly a
unanimous choice for the top spot with 10 out of 11 first place
votes and 119 points. In 2013, the Pioneers tied a program record
with 18 victories for the second straight season. LIU Post, who
spent four weeks as the No. 1 team in the nation in 2013, begins
the 2014 slate ranked at No. 8 in the National Soccer Coaches
Association of America Preseason Top 25 poll.
New York Institute of Technology, who did not make the ECC
Championship but did earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament a year
ago, finished with 95 points in the poll to rank second just ahead
of Bridgeport. The Purple Knights round out the top three with 94
points. Dowling, which advanced to the ECC Championship Final and
also the NCAA Tournament, received the final first place vote and
comes in fourth in the poll with 85 points.
Austboe had one of the best seasons in ECC history on the way to
winning the conference's Offensive Player of the Year award a year
ago, scoring 24 goals and dishing off 10 assists for a whopping 58
points. His goal and point totals were more than twice the total of
the runner-ups on the ECC leader board and also ranked second in
all of Division II. For his efforts, Austboe was named the
Daktronics Division II National Player of the Year as well as being
honored as a First Team All-American by both Daktronics and the
National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
Olesen, a four-year starter on the Purple Knights' back line, has
earned the coaches' vote as the Preseason Defensive Player of the
Year. He started 15 games in 2013 and was a key member of a
Bridgeport defense led the conference with only 14 goals and a 0.87
goals against average. Olesen chipped in with three goals and one
assist during the 2013 campaign, as well.
2014 ECC
Men’s Soccer Preseason Poll
| School | Pts. | 2013 Record |
| 1. LIU Post (10) | 119 | 18-2-2 (8-0-2 ECC) |
| 2. NYIT | 95 | 13-5-0 (6-4-0 ECC) |
| 3. Bridgeport | 94 | 9-7-0 (7-3-0 ECC) |
| 4. Dowling (1) | 85 | 12-5-3 (5-2-3 ECC) |
| 5. Mercy | 83 | 11-4-4 (5-2-3 ECC) |
| 6. Queens | 62 | 9-5-3 (4-4-2 ECC) |
| 7. District of Columbia | 59 | 7-6-3 (2-5-3 ECC) |
| 8. St. Thomas Aquinas | 43 | 7-8-1 (4-6-0 ECC) |
| 9. Molloy | 41 | 5-9-3 (3-4-3 ECC) |
| 10. Roberts Wesleyan | 33 | 4-12-2 (2-7-1 ECC) |
| 11. Daemen | 12 | 4-13-1 (0-9-1 ECC) |
( ) - first place votes
