Brookville, N.Y. - The 22nd-ranked and second-seeded LIU Post men's soccer team used a four-goal second half Thursday to defeat No. 3 seed Dowling, 4-1, in the semifinals of 2014 East Coast Conference Championship at Pioneer Soccer Park.
With the win, the Pioneers (14-3-1) now advance to Saturday's final, where they will square off with next-door neighbor NYIT at President's Stadium in Old Westbury, N.Y. LIU Post is in search of a third-consecutive ECC Championship trophy.
Though they trailed 1-0 at the intermission, the green and gold dominated the pace of play, as it outshot the opposition by a 23-8 count in the match. The hosts also earned 15 corner kicks to the visitors' three.
Four-plus minutes into the latter half, the Pioneers evened the score. Junior midfielder Per Forgaard (Stavanger, Norway) tapped the ball past Dowling (10-6-2) junior goalkeeper Chris Friedl (Port Jefferson, N.Y.), after receiving a touch off the head of sophomore back Johannes Forgaard (Stavanger, Norway).
Shortly thereafter, Johannes Forgaard gave LIU Post the lead, and the green and gold never looked back. In the 61st minute, the sophomore put back an Eivind Austboe (Stavanger, Norway) rebound to make it a 2-1 game.
Just over seven minutes later, Per Forgaard dribbled around two defenders and fired a shot into the lower left corner of the netting for his second goal of the contest. That widened the Pioneers' advantage to 3-1.
Sophomore forward Maxime Devillaz (Stehag, Sweden) tacked on one more for good measure in the 86th minute. His first tally of the 2014 campaign came off a shot from the top of the box, which evaded Friedl's outstretched arms.
Between the pipes, Friedl made nine saves for Dowling. Junior netminder Jesper Malmstrom (Linkopping, Sweden) stopped one shot for LIU Post.
Provided by the LIU Post Sports Information Department.
