LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY
POST Pioneers
|| Story by Emily Soper || Photos by Morgan Harrison ||
I
t’s no surprise that the
undefeated
Long
Island
University men’s soccer team
is unstoppable. For the 2013
season, the Post Pioneers
currently have a record of 13-0-0. Last
season, the men’s soccer team went 18-20 for the season (8-1-0 for conference).
Head coach Andreas Lindberg
has been with the team for five years
as head coach, and calls his team a
“tremendous force.” In comparison to last
season, Lindberg states that, “The season is
similar; I’ve really liked what we’ve done so
far. We just need to get sharper.” Lindberg
is obviously doing something right as his
Pioneers have continued to improve their
performance, year after year.
Lindberg likes how his team is playing thus
far, and for good reason. The team is undefeated
so far, and has won all conference and nonconference games alike. Lindberg says that his
goals for the team are to “be a continuing force in
the nation,” and to “make it back to the national
tournaments and to the final four.” The Post
Pioneers just take it one game at a time,
and Coach Lindberg hopes that
his team will, “go farther than
they’ve gone before.”
Last season went by in a
similar fashion for the Pioneers.
Lindberg’s stats for his team
steadily improve year by year and
eliminate all losses. This could
be in part to his team-building
exercises and activities that the
Pioneers take part in. “This past
preseason, we went to Sweden,”
Lindberg states, “It was great for
the team, for the local players
and to see the local culture.” The
Pioneers are a very multi-cultural
team, as 18 out of the 27 players
on the roster came to the school
internationally, five of which are
Swedish.
The Men’s soccer team
at Post also helps the community
here on Long Island. Lindberg
states that his team is, “A very
close knit group, and we really try
to help out our community.” The
team has gone out to Hamptons,
as well as Huntington, to take
part in community serviceoriented projects. This is not
only a team-building exercise,
but also strengthens the bond
and the character of the team.
All of the players on the
team are in sync with each
other.
Sophomore Johan
Rundqvist plays center
back, and Lindberg states
Rundqvist, “keeps the
defense organized.” The
team has a lot of returning
seniors, such as Marco
Jorgenson (goalkeeper)
and Jonathon Watkin
(midfield). Lindberg calls
his returning seniors,
and his entire team,
a “tremendous force.”
Junior
Eivind
Austboe had a head
injury last year, and
Lindberg and the team
were concerned for his health and if he
would return to play soccer. Austboe plays
forward, and he has, according to Coach
Lindberg been, “coming back full force
and doing really well.”
Senior Eirik Bjoernoe hails from
Norway and is this year’s team captain.
Bjoernoe plays back for the Post Pioneers.
“Eirik has been playing solid and has
improved his defensive game over the
summer,” Lindberg said, “He’s both a
leader in the locker room and on the field,
and he can run all day.”
This has been quite the season for the
Post Pioneers and they will be playing
away games for a lot of the duration of
the regular season. The Pioneers can be
seen at home at LIU Post in Brookville on
October 26th 2013, where they face off
against Mercy College.
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