Press Releases

September 20, 2002
Men's Soccer Team Wins Three Straight Heading Into League Opener

Rebuilt Colonials Feature More Scoring, Solid Defense

Contact:
Darren Johnson
(631) 287 8313
Fax: (631) 283 4081

With a 6-2 win at Caldwell College on Thursday, September 19, the Southampton College men's soccer team upped their unbeaten streak to five straight games and the team's record to 3-1-2. It was the team's third straight win. With several new players coming from Europe, the Colonials didn't have all their starters in place at season's start. But, now, with junior transfer scorer Kiriakos Michalidis from Stockholm, Sweden, and freshman midfielder Markus Persson from Malmo, Sweden, who has yet to play, the team is sure to score plenty of goals.

Michalidis was named New York Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week last week after scoring six goals in two games. Persson debuts on Monday, September 23 at 4 p.m. at Southampton vs. Molloy in their NYCAC opener. "They are both terrific players," said first year coach Andreas Lindberg, a former all-star player with the Colonials. "Kiriakos can score on almost any play and Markus may end up being the best player in Southampton College history."

The dangerous scoring tandem joins a tradition of prolific strikers at Southampton College. Three years ago, the Colonials featured Johan Kron, whose 22 goals in a season broke a campus record. The next year, Peter Nilsson joined the flagship program " which is 40-9-6 in the past three seasons " and scored 18 goals in 2000 and 26 goals in 2001 to set a new record. Lindberg, who played with Kron and Nilsson, believes that their records are in jeopardy. "We definitely have dynamite offensive weapons with Kiriakos and Markus along with returning junior Andreas Nilsson," Lindberg said. "Team spirit is also high. We could definitely do some damage in the NYCAC."

The Colonials have also had outstanding goal play. Returning junior Brian Hilton of Holtsville, NY, made 12 saves against Caldwell while freshman Rikard Alsterberg from Goteborg, Sweden, has a .50 goals-against average per game. "Both goaltenders are awesome players," their coach said.

The Colonials return home on Saturday, September 28 at 2 p.m. vs. West Chester University, one of the region's top-ranked teams.

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