BROOKVILLE, N.Y. - LIU men's soccer had a hard-fought win against Howard at home Sunday afternoon, led by sophomore
Emil Jaaskelainen's hat trick. The forward scored all three of the Sharks' goals, leading LIU to a 3-1 win. With the victory, the Sharks are now 4-0 in Northeast Conference play, and 8-2-2 on the season, maintaining their eight-game unbeaten streak.
The Bison suprised the Sharks from first kick with agressive, quick play. The first-time NEC matchup looked like it was going to be a suprise for LIU, as Howard scored just five minutes into play, on a beautiful fast-break goal from Amir Acree. But the Sharks slowly adapted to their newest conference foes, and scored in the 28th minute.
Javier Rehberger took a corner kick, and
Assane Ben Fall headed the ball towards the goal. In the ensuing skirmish, the ball came spinning out right on the goal line, where Jaaskelainen one-touched it into the net, tying the game up, 1-1.
In the 34th minute, Rehberger, Fall and Jaaskelainen connected again to score, putting the Sharks up 2-1. In the second half, the Sharks added one more, when Jaaskelainen scored off a fast-break pass from
Hans Oeftger to make it 3-1 LIU.
Howard's aggressive offense kept goalie
Demetri Skoumbakis on his toes, as the senior made seven outstanding saves to help clinch the win for the Sharks.
Up next, LIU looks to continue its win streak at home, hosting Merrimack, Thursday, October 14th at 2 p.m.
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