Rutherford, NJ | The College of Staten Island Men's Soccer team became the first CSI squad to score a victory as a a Division II institution against a fellow Division II member, as they rallied to score a 2-1 win over Felician College to close their 2019 campaign with a victory. CSI upped their overall record to 10-5-1 overall and winners of four in a row, while Felician fell to 3-12 overall.
Under the lights at Felician, CSI certainly had the better of play in the opening stanza, but it was the home side that got on the board with a late first half goal that they would take into halftime. But a resilient CSI would not relent, and after tying it in the 59th minute, a
Philip Lefkowitz goal in the closing seconds clinched the win in the thriller.
Lefkowitz got the game's first shot just over a minute in, sending one wide of frame, and he collected another attempt in the fourth minute, saved by Alex Ficarra, it was part of eight saves for Ficarra, five in the first half. Leo Yang was the playmaker for FC, as he sent a shot on frame in the 19th minute, forcing CSI keeper
Christian Carucci to make the stop.
After continued frustration, FC seized momentum when Yang turned on a loose ball, and sent a 35-yard ripper that snuck in under the crossbar passed Carucci to give the home team a 1-0 lead at 29:18. CSI tried to turn up the pressure but two more stops were made, while Yang was prevented from scoring again with 50 ticks left in the half as well.
Needing an equalizer, CSI put out all the stops to get the tying goal, and in the 58th minute alone they sent four shots all wide of frame. After another shot went wide, CSI earned a corner kick, and after the scramble,
Carlos Montesinos found
Mohammedou Sow, who buried one into the net at 59:52 to even the count at 1-1. For Sow, it was his second goal in as many games.
The chances became fewer from there for both teams, and when they needed to, both goalies made crucial saves, including a Ficarra parry in the 80th minute against
Wilson Quintero and a
Jake Foeldes save on a Diego Duffort effort just four minutes later.
Play then seemed destined for overtime, but senior Phil Lefkowitz had other plans. With Quintero rushing down the sideline, he would place a cross into the box, that Lefkowitz reached with the head and put inside the left post to make it 2-1 with just 33 seconds left in the game. The goal was the clincher for CSI in what was their first-ever meeting with Felician.
The win over Felician lifted CSI to 1-4-1 against DII competition this season, with two of the losses coming as one-goal games (one in overtime), so the win tonight overturned some earlier frustrations. The win capped another quality campaign for CSI, who went 9-0 in their final nine NCAA Division III games, including an 8-0 run through their final pass in the CUNYAC, outscoring their opponents, 30-2.
CSI finished tonight with a 25-7 edge in shots (10-5 on goal), with FC earning a modest, 3-1, edge in corner kicks. Both teams committed 12 fouls apiece.
