Box Score The College of Staten Island women's soccer punched their ticket to their 9th CUNYAC Women's Soccer Championship Final in the last 10 years, turning back No. 4 John Jay College as part of semifinal play, 3-0, in a match played at tourney hosts Brooklyn College.  The Dolphins, who defeated the Bloodhounds twice during the regular season as well, improved to 16-1-2 overall, while John Jay finalized their season at 4-15.

CSI, which had out-scored JJC, 7-0, and out-shot the Hounds, 69-5, over 180 minutes during the regular season, saw a similar statistical edge this time around, posting a season-high 41 shots in the contest (23 on goal), next to John Jay's four.  Still, the quality chances to score were measured for the Dolphins, and when CSI was able to register on goal, JJC keeper Katelyn Davis proved up for the challenge.

The Dolphins tempered the JJC net early, as Davis made four stops in the opening eight minutes before CSI nearly registered on a Gabriela Romero shot that dinged off the post at 8:49, keeping the game scoreless.  Davis would make four more saves before JJC even registered their first shot, saved easily by CSI's Victoria Donegan at the 22:10 mark.  Then it was CSI's turn.  Senior Demi-Jean Martorano got off two shots in a span of 1:15, the second of which, on a poorly cleared ball in the box, streaked into the goal past Davis to give CSI the lead, 1-0, at 24:50.  Both teams battled for possession from there, and even though JJC turned up the offensive, CSI's defense was air-tight, riding the Martorano goal into intermission.

Despite the dramatic edge in play and stats, CSI used halftime to focus on trying to put the game away, and the Dolphins proved capable.  After putting a  couple of early shots wide of goal, sophomore Daniele Alexandrini took in a Nicole Molinell cross and buried a ball into the net to give CSI a commanding 2-0 edge just 5:44 into the second frame.  From there, CSI was in cruise control, forcing the Bloodhounds to commit offensive front and then resting on their counter-attack to garner more chances.

The gameplan paid off just under seven minutes later, when Martorano put a punctuation mark by netting her 24th goal of the season into the twine off of a Melissa Gelardi cross into the box.  CSi now led 3-0, and now, fully committed to playing defense and managing the lead, John Jay never registered another shot as CSI advanced into the final by virtue of a 3-0 final.

CSI's Gelardi led all scorers with 11 shots (seven on goal) while Martorano and Samantha Wysokowski followed with eight apiece.  Donegan made a total of two saves in the win, while Davis made a whopping 20 stops in net for JJC in the loss.  In a total of three games this season, the Dolphins outscored the Bloodhounds, 10-0, and enjoyed a 110-9 shot advantage.  The Dolphins also improved to 10-0-2 all -time against John Jay.

The win catapults CSI into the CUNYAC Final, familiar grounds for the Dolphins, who have made the Championship Game in 9 of the 10 years the conference has sponsored the sport.  CSI has now appeared in the last four finals.  They took home the title in 2011 via a penalty kick win over the Bloodhounds after a 0-0 draw.  They fell in the 2010 final to Medgar Evers College, 3-1, and to CCNY, 1-0, in 2012.

The Final is set for Saturday at 2pm at Brooklyn College.  CSI will play the winner of the CUNYAC's other semifinal between Brooklyn College and City College of New York.  At press time, BC leads CCNY, 3-0, at halftime.