by Chris Detwiler
BROOKVILLE, NY – No.10 LIU Post Pioneers fell on Senior Day to No. 9 Seton Hill in a nail-biting, 11-9 loss at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Field on Saturday April 27.
The contest was the team’s final regular season game.
With the regular season now in the books, the Pioneers take their 5-1 conference record into the East Coast Conference (ECC) tournament which begins on Wednesday, May 1.
“First thing you have to do is recover,” LIU Post head coach Eric Wolf said. “I think it’s important to not carry those losses with you. As we move forward, we have to recover and then get ready to get back to work.”
The Pioneers are locked into the second seed in the tournament behind Mercy College, who beat them 13-10 on April 20. New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) earned the third seed with Roberts Wesleyan rounding out the top four.
Sophomore Will Snelders led the Pioneers with two goals on Saturday.
Pioneers’ senior goalie Bryan Ochs recorded 11 saves in his final regular season game with LIU Post.
“That’s one of the best offensive teams we’ve played,” Wolf said. “I was definitely proud of the defensive effort.”
The Griffins were led by redshirt junior Bennett Johnson, who scored four.
The Pioneers (10-4, 5-1 ECC) lost the opening faceoff, but stingy defense led to them scoring the opening goal of the contest. 17 seconds later, LIU Post took a 2-0 lead. This swung all the momentum towards the Pioneers.
LIU Post took that momentum and scored again a minute and a half later to take an early 3-0 lead.
Seton Hill (11-3, 5-0 G-Mac) then responded in a big way, scoring two goals – one man-down – to climb back within one.
The Pioneers extended their slim lead with three goals to start the second quarter, giving them a 6-2 lead. But three of the final four goals of the half went to Seton Hill, and when the final buzzer of the first half rang, LIU Post’s lead had gone from four goals down to only two.
That two-goal lead dwindled fast in the third quarter as Seton Hill scored three goals in the first seven minutes of the half to take an 8-7 lead. The Griffins’ lead only lasted about two minutes, however, as the Pioneers found the back of the net to tie the game at eight with six minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The back-and-forth play continued into the fourth quarter, with neither team able to pull away. Seton Hill took a two-goal lead with 11 minutes remaining in regulation, but the Pioneers were back within one less than one minute later.
But Seton Hill scored again to take a two-goal lead late in the fourth quarter. It was too much for the Pioneers to overcome as the Griffins held on for the 11-9 victory.
“Just came up short,” Wolf said. “In order to beat a team like that, you have to put together a full game and we didn’t do that.”
The senior class includes Ochs and star faceoff specialist, Connor Ferrell, who was recently drafted by the Chrome Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League, as well as the New York Lizards of Major League Lacrosse.
“It’s a good group,” Wolf said. “They’re tight, they’re fun, they’re lighthearted and they care. Losing the last two games in a row doesn’t sit well with them so we have to come back and be ready for our next opponent.”
LIU Post will take on NYIT in the ECC semifinals on Wednesday May 1 at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Field on the campus of LIU Post. Time for opening faceoff has not yet been decided.
“We’ll be ready for them,” Wolf said.
