GAME CENTER:

Wednesday, Oct. 23 – 3 p.m. No. 9 Post vs. No. 1 LIU-Post LaMoy Field – Waterbury, Conn. Coverage: Live Stats | Live Video TV: CPTV Sports

 

WATERBURY, Conn. – The No. 9 Post University men’s soccer team hosts No. 1 LIU-Post at LaMoy Field on Wednesday afternoon. The Eagles boast one of the top defenses in the country while the Pioneers have one of the top offenses in the nation. Post is 1-0 against top-10 teams this season after defeating then-No. 7 Southern New Hampshire to open the year. Wednesday will mark the first time the Eagles have hosted a nationally-ranked team.

 

Last Time Out: No. 9 Post 2, Georgian Court – Box Score | Recap

Andre Lindsay recorded his seventh shutout of the season as the Eagles defeated Georgian Court 2-0 on Saturday afternoon in the first-ever meeting between the two. Post is unbeaten in 10 straight games and improve to 11-1-1 overall and 9-1-0 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) play.

 

Georgian Court committed a foul in penalty area in the 12^th minute to give the Eagles a penalty kick. Rylan Gentil guessed right on senior Joe Baccielo’s (Stratford, Conn.) shot and made the stop. Sophomore Raphael Moura (Danbury, Conn.) secured the rebound and made a pass to junior Terrell Whitting (Naugatuck, Conn.) for a goal to put Post ahead 1-0.

 

Sophomore Francisco Sastre (Sao Paolo, Brazil) extended Post’s advantage in the 81^st minute with a long shot from outside the 18-yard box off a pass from junior Jose Monterroza (Los Angeles, Calif.). Sastre has scored seven goals in the last nine games.

 

Scouting the Pioneers

LIU-Post is currently the top-ranked team in the county at 14-0 overall and 7-0 in East Coast Conference (ECC) play. Dating back to last season, the Pioneers have won 20 consecutive regular season games. They are in the top-five in the country in seven statistical categories and lead the nation in goals (50), assists (42), and points (142). Eivind Austboe leads the NCAA with 17 goals and is second with 40 points.

All-Time Series vs. LIU-Post

In the only previous meeting between the two teams, LIU-Post defeated Post 3-1 last year. Jean Louis Cadet scored in the 20^th minute to give the Eagles an early lead. This is the Pioneers’ first trip to Waterbury.

Results

10/23/12..................A.....................L, 3-1

Close To Clinching Title

Post is close to clinching its third-consecutive CACC Regular Season Championship. The Eagles are currently in first place with 27 points, five points ahead of Philadelphia, with two conference games remaining. Since Post holds the tiebreaker over Philadelphia, the Eagles need a win or tie in either of their final two CACC games to claim the title and a home game to open the conference tournament.

Clean Sheets For Lindsay

Senior goalkeeper Andre Lindsey (Clarendon, Jamaica) has allowed just five goals this season and recorded shutouts in seven of Post’s victories and shared a shutout against Felician. He leads the conference in goals against average (0.37), shutouts (7), and save percentage (.884). Lindsay is third in the nation in save percentage and second in goals against average.

Creating Chances

Post has outshot its opponents 195-114 this season. The Eagles held a 13-5 advantage last time out against Georgian Court. Post does most of its damage in the first half as it holds an 86-43 shot advantage in the opening period this year.

Defending The Prize

The Eagles have one of the top defenses in the country. Post leads the nation in save percentage at 0.884. They have allowed just five goals all season and are ranked second in the country in goals against average at 0.36 and shutout percentage (0.62).

Jumping Into The National Spotlight

The Eagles are currently ranked No. 9 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll released on Oct. 15. It is the highest ranking for any team in school history. It marks the fourth time this season Post is ranked in the Top 25. The Eagles have been regionally ranked in the top four all season.

Previous NSCAA Rankings

Date – National, Regional

Sept. 10 – No. 12, East: No. 2

Sept. 17 – East: No. 4

Sept. 24 – Receiving Votes, East: No. 4

Oct. 1 – No. 15, East: No. 2

Oct. 8 – No. 13, East: No. 2

Oct. 15 – No. 9, East: No. 2

Accolades From The Conference

Three members of the Post University men's soccer team have been honored by the CACC this season. On Sept. 9. Raphael Moura was selected as Co-Player of the Week and Andre Lindsay was tabbed as Defensive Player of the Week. Lindsay was also named the ECAC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 9. Francisco Sastre was named conference player of the week on Oct. 7. Lindsay has been named to the Honor Roll three times this season. Terrell Whtting was named to the Honor Roll for the first time last week.

Home Sweet Home

Post is unbeaten in 25 of its last 26 home games. The Eagles are 21-1-4, have outscored opponents 61-13 and posted nine shutouts over the stretch. The lone defeat during the stretch came against Chestnut Hill on Sept. 15. Post is also unbeaten in 20 of its last 21 regular season conference games.

 

Baccielo Breaks Scoring Record

Senior Joe Baccielo scored three goals on Oct. 8 against Felician to surpass Maurice Johnson to become the all-time leading point-scorer in Post men’s soccer history. He now stands at 77 career points. Baccielo has also scored 31 goals, one behind Eurica Trowers’ record of 32 and is three back of Johan Pineda with 15 career assists. Senior Kevin Ipina sits at 11 career assists, seven back of the record.

 

Eagles Against Nationally Ranked Opponents

Post picked up its first-ever win against a nationally ranked team on Sept. 5 in a 1-0 victory over No. 7 Southern New Hampshire. It was the third time the Eagles squared off against an NSCAA Top 25 team. Post has one more game against a nationally ranked opponent this season on Oct. 23 against No. 1 LIU-Post at home.

Previous Results

9/5/13 – at No. 7 Southern New Hampshire – W, 1-0

10/23/12 – at No. 2 LIU-Post – L, 3-1

9/29/12 – at No. 15 Southern New Hampshire – L, 4-1

Bringing Home the Hardware

The Eagles won a record number of awards in 2012. Senior Joe Baccielo (Stratford, Conn.) received eight regional and national honors including, CACC Player of the Year, NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division II Third Team All-American, and Capital One Second Team Academic All-American. Senior Kevin Ipina (Danbury, Conn.) was named NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division II Honorable Mention All-American. Sophomore Raphael Moura (Danbury, Conn.) received CACC Rookie of the Year and head coach Ted Haley was honored as conference coach of the year. Additionally, the team received the NSCAA Team Academic Award and placed three on the CACC All-Academic Team.

Tough Slate Ahead

The Eagles will play a 16-match schedule that features matchups with five of the top eight teams in the East Region in 2012 and three NCAA Tournament participants. Post opens the season on the road against Southern New Hampshire on Sept. 5. On Sept. 25, Post plays Dominican on the road in a rematch of the 2012 CACC Championship game.  LIU-Post makes its first-ever appearance at LaMoy Field on Oct. 23. The Pioneers were ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA Poll after beginning the 2012 season 12-0-0.

Preseason Prognostications

The Post men’s soccer team was tabbed to finish first in the CACC in the Preseason Poll released on Aug. 20. The Eagles received seven first-place votes and 157 points as voted on by the league’s 13 head coaches.

On The Horizon

Post closes out its regular season with two games next week. The Eagles host Bloomfield on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 3 p.m. and head to Nyack on Friday, Nov. 1 at 3 p.m.