BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – The Long Island University football team came up short to Sacred Heart University, 34-10 in its home opener at the newly renovated Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 21.
The LIU athletic department officially opened the facility that received a facelift with new branding and a major upgrade in seating with a special ceremony before kickoff which included a ribbon cutting ceremony by university president, Dr. Kimberly Cline.
The Sharks had a much-improved performance offensively from their season opener, tallying 276 yards of total offense behind 141 rushing yards. Redshirt-senior
Tim Marinan led the rushing attack with 61 yards on 13 carries, while junior quarterback
Clay Beathard added 46 yards on 15 attempts. Beathard finished 9-for-25 on his passing attempts, including a 41-yard hookup with redshirt-sophomore wide receiver
Tosin Oyekanmi. Oyekanmi finished with a team-high 57 receiving yards on three receptions, while sophomore
Damien Caffrey and freshman
Owen Glascoe added 26-yard catches on the day.
On the defensive end, junior
Jerome Brooks III tallied a career-high eight tackles, while senior
Ricco Aaron, Jr. added 7.5 stops. Junior
Abdoulaye Konate handed the Pioneers their first sack of the year, recording 1.5 total tackles on the day, while junior
Jahmel Johnson had an excellent day in the secondary, netting the first interception of the year for LIU while also breaking up two passes.
After forcing a three-and-out on its first defensive possession, LIU drove 52 yards on 10 plays, but a field goal attempt by redshirt-freshman
Briant DeFelice was blocked, keeping the game scoreless. Sacred Heart took an early lead on the ensuing drive when Eli Terry punched in a two-yard carry to give the Pioneers a 6-0 edge.
The Sharks quickly countered on their next possession and Beathard found space on a read-option, spinning away from a tackle and diving across the goal line for a 20-yard rushing score, marking the first touchdown and first lead of the season for LIU.
The offense was stalled however, while the Pioneer offense found its groove during the second quarter. Sacred Heart outscored LIU 21-0 during the stanza and took a 27-7 lead into the locker room. DeFelice converted a 33-yard field goal during the second half and the LIU defense held Sacred Heart to just one score on a 44-yard run by Julius Chestnut, but the Sharks could not overcome the deficit and fell by the 34-10 final.
LIU returns to the field next week at Wagner College. The contest will be the NEC spotlight game of the week and will be televised on ESPN3 beginning at 12:00 p.m.
