Resurgent Sharks rally past Manhattan

Jaaskelainen's penalty kick lifts LIU to second straight win

September 15, 2022 John Torenli, Sports Editor

Junior striker Emil Jaaskelainen scored on a penalty kick in the 89th minute to lift LIU over visiting Manhattan on Wednesday afternoon. Photo courtesy of LIU Athletics

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Long Island University men’s soccer coach Mike Mordocco knows his squad is still searching for the form that made them Northeast Conference champions and winners of an NCAA Tournament game last season.

But that hasn’t stopped the Sharks from finding ways to win thus far this year.

Henry Haferkorn scored his first goal of the campaign and sensational striker Emil Jaaskelainen came through with a penalty kick winner in the 89th minute Wednesday as the Sharks rallied for a 2-1 victory over visiting Manhattan in front of 150 fans at LIU Park.

“We weren’t great today,” admitted Mordocco after watching the Sharks overcome Johan Velez’s first-half goal with a pair of tallies following intermission.

“We’re still trying to figure out who we are,” he added. “But it’s the sign of a good team to find ways to win games and get results.”

Last year, the Sharks edged arch rival St. Francis Brooklyn for the NEC crown and bested Maryland in the opening round of the NCAAs before falling to Saint Louis in the second round.

After opening this campaign with back-to-back home wins, the Sharks (4-2)scuffled through consecutive losses before blanking Dartmouth on Saturday and edging past the Jaspers (1-3-2) in Brookville, N.Y.

None of it would have been possible without the goaltending of Gianluca Cersosimo, who made four saves in his second straight start, and Haferkorn’s equalizing header in the 64th minute off a free kick from Robert Winkler.

Jaaskelainen beat Manhattan netminder Daniel Polakowski on the PK for his team high-tying third goal of the year with less than a minute and a half remaining in regulation, catapulting the Sharks back into the win column for a second straight game.

They’ll try to make it a season-high three in a row when they visiting Columbia on Saturday night, even if Mordocco believes the Sharks are in the midst of trying to discover what type of team they’ll be this season.

“We weren’t sharp (against Manhattan),” he readily admitted. “We were slow. But somehow we dug in. We stayed a little disciplined.”

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Ana Romero and the Brooklyn College women’s soccer squad will be seeking their first win of the year Saturday at BC Field. Photo courtesy of BC Athletics

Over at Brooklyn College on Wednesday, the men’s soccer club remained winless in its first six contests (0-5-1) with a 4-0 defeat at Purchase College while the women’s squad dropped to 0-4 with a 7-0 drubbing at the hands of visiting New Jersey City University.

On Saturday, both squads will host Mitchell College with the women kicking off first at Brooklyn College Field at 1 p.m.

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In local pro sports news, the Brooklyn Nets had to be heartened to hear that sharp-shooter Joe Harris, limited to only 14 games last season due to an ankle injury, is fully healthy and ready to go for the upcoming 2022-23 campaign.

Harris, a former NBA 3-Point Shootout champion and always among the deadliest long-range artists in the league, had recurring issues in his left ankle which required surgeries in late Novermber and March.