Staten Island, NY | The College of Staten Island men's soccer team stayed perfect in the CUNYAC this afternoon with a 3-0 win over CUNYAC rivals, Hunter College. The win for the Dolphins broke the all-time series deadlock as they improved to 19-18-4. For the season, Staten Island improved their win streak to four in a row to improve to 10-3 overall and 6-0 in the CUNYAC while the Hawks dropped to 3-7-1, 2-2-1.
The Dolphins controlled the tempo of the game from the first whistle and tested Noah Dougherty early and often.
Joe Albanese was first to put a shot on target when he found some space just outside the 18-yard box and uncorked a shot. Staten Island continued to rifle off shots but saw them miss both left and right. Just as the clock struck the 13th minute, the Dolphins cashed in.
Philip Lefkowitz sent in a low driven corner kick to the front post and connected with
Mike Arellanes. Arellanes was able to redirect the ball with a heel flick into the far netting.
Macki Dougoune doesn't often make the stat sheet but his presence on the field doesn't go unnoticed. Dougoune is the workhorse for the Dolphins in the center of the pitch, winning the ball and distributing it to his teammates to start the attack. Dougoune did nearly find his way onto the stat sheet this afternoon when he curled a shot to the far post, just missing its mark.
Six minutes left in the first half, the Dolphins would strike again.
Joe Bolella received a pass from Lefkowitz on the left side of the box and bent his shot around Dougherty into the right side for his 12th goal of the season. Lefkowitz's assist propelled himself to the top of the board as he now leads the nation in assists with 12 on the year.
CSI struggled to find room in the second half and replicate their 17 shot outburst in the first half.
Bryant Navarro however, took matters into his own hand and dribbled past several defenders and placed a shot under Dougherty for his team-high 13th goal of the season.
In the 81st minute, the Hawks nearly found a way to crack the Dolphins vault but
Breny Salas was able to clear the ball off of the line after it had snuck past
Christian Carucci. That would not be the end of the Hawks' attack, however, as Thomas Leira headed the ball but it bounced off of the crossbar and out of play to keep Hunter scoreless.
The Dolphins' continuous attacks led to a 9-2 edge in corner kicks while Carucci didn't have to make any saves as Hunter tallied just four shots compared to 24 for the Dolphins.
Staten Island will return to action on Monday, October 8th where they will travel to Rosemont, PA to take on Rosemont College in non-conference action.
POST GAME INTERVIEW
GAME VIDEO
