LIU Post Downs Mercy for Fourth-Straight ECC Title

LIU Post Downs Mercy for Fourth-Straight ECC Title

Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. – The LIU Post men's soccer team captured its fourth-consecutive East Coast Conference championship with a 2-0 victory against No. 1 seed Mercy College on Saturday, Nov. 3 at Mercy Field.
 
All it took was one ball behind the Maverick defense to completely shift the momentum of the match in favor of the Pioneers. Freshman Atha Coutroumpas floated a ball over Mercy's back line and graduate student Lukas Ostermannran down the bouncing ball and calmly touched a shot past the charging Maverick goalkeeper for the opening goal of the match during the 57th minute. Prior to the strike, the two squads were stuck in a defensive stalemate, registering a combined two shots on goal during the opening period of action.
 
With the tides shifted in favor of the second-seeded Pioneers, the defense stepped up and took care of the rest. Mercy tallied 12 shot attempts in total but could not coordinate many scoring chances throughout the afternoon. The Green and Gold held the Mavericks to just three shots on goal, with senior goalkeeper Oliver Hessner Hansen stopping all three attempts for another postseason clean sheet.
 
LIU Post sealed the victory for good during the 83rd minute when senior Vittorio Argeri placed a free kick inside the penalty area that deflected in the back of the net to put the Pioneers ahead by the 2-0 final.
 
Mercy's best scoring chance of the day came moments before Ostermann found the back of the net, as Manuel Achondo headed a ball off the crossbar. Hessner Hansen made three saves following the go-ahead goal to hold off the Maverick attack the rest of the way.
 
With 10 total saves and 200 scoreless minutes in goal during the postseason, the ECC awarded Hessner Hansen the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award.  
 
In addition to the ECC title, LIU Post captures the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division II championship. The NCAA will reveal the 38-team field the 2018 championship on Monday, Nov. 5 at 6:00 p.m. Opening rounds of the national tournament are scheduled to begin on Thursday, Nov. 8.

Provided by the LIU Post Sports Information Department.