Staten Island, NY - The College of Staten Island Men's & Women's Soccer teams are ready to get back on the field of play. After a year of much dismay, the Dolphins Varsity Soccer teams will look to make waves in their first official year against Division II opponents in the East Coast Conference (ECC) as they enter their third and final provisional period. Although teams will not be eligible for the postseason (due to provisional status), both Men's & Women's Soccer teams hope to use this season as a stepping-stone against DII opponents as coaches worked diligently to recruit over the past year.
 
The men last played in 2019 where they played against mostly Division III opponents while entering their first provisional year as a DII program, finishing their season with a, 10-5-1 overall record; the lone tie came against DII ECC opponent, St. Thomas Aquinas. They will kick off this season on Wednesday, September 8 against non-conference East Stroudsburg University who finished their 2019 campaign with a, 11-5-3 overall record. Head Coach John Tardy along with longtime assistant coach, Alex Cuba and new assistant coach Sebastan Zieba, along with a few volunteer assistants, will strive to start the season off strong with a nearly entirely new roster (21 new student athletes to be exact). "We have a very young team this year...we have our work cut out for us to get guys back up to speed. We have a ton of talent from all around, so we are looking to see what that talent folds into this year" said head coach John Tardy, who is entering his 9^th season as the Dolphins head coach. As of 2019, coach Tardy became the winningest coach in men's soccer history with 87 wins under his belt entering this season. Tardy discussed his decision on appointing, Alex Cuba, as associate head coach this season, "Cuba has been with me for about eight years now and I feel like we are always on the same wavelength so it's like he is an extension of me and to move him forward in his career, he is more than deserving to have that title now". Tardy also mentions new assistant, Sebastan Zieba, who will focus on video analysis for the team while other assistants will focus on the tactical and mental team needs, however, coach emphasizes that, every coach will have one-on-one time with each player to help them grow individually both on the field of play and in the classroom. 
 
Tardy will be looking for sophomore, Daniel Angulo, who is stepping in as captain this year and having started every game for the Dolphins in 2019, hopes that Angulo's experience with his system will help raise this year's team to the next level. Coach also highlighted players that were not able to compete in 2020 but expect big things from this season are Leandro Angulo and Nilton Gonzalez, two talented freshmen that have worked hard all summer. From this year's freshmen class, Nicholas Kishenko and Brian Kerilu, both from Staten Island, will look to earn some quality minutes and lead the way for the freshmen on the team.
 
The women also last played in 2019 against Division III opponents rounding out their final record at, 6-7-1. With newly hired Head Coach, Brendan Guzman, the Dolphins will start their 2021 campaign as part of the UB Women's Soccer Classic playing two games in three days in Connecticut. They will first face off against the American International College and then the Southern New Hampshire University on Friday, September 3^rd and Sunday, September 5^th respectively. "Were excited for a new season, we have a good influx of freshmen, and our main expectation this year will be getting them to a place where they are competing every game." Said Head Coach, Brendan Guzman, who knows there will be challenges given that he just became their coach less than a month ago, with a team he did not recruit.
 
Nonetheless, in his few weeks of practice with the team, Guzman highlights three returners, Mirsade Pelinkovic, Danie Duka, and Angye Galan whom he will look to in terms of leadership but really feels his freshmen class looks good this year and can see many of them taking on those leadership roles on their own as the season progresses. Guzman also touches on his coaching philosophy stating, "I am players first coach, I want to help build an experience, especially for life after soccer, because I think that is what student-athlete stands for but at the same time I want to change the culture a bit, going from a team who dominated in DIII CUNY to DII ECC competition where no game can be taken lightly; we will need to compete each and every day to succeed." It is true the women's soccer team in DIII was one of the more dominating teams in the CUNYAC, boosting a .840 win percentage overall that included 10 CUYAC Championships with four NCAA DIII postseason appearances.
 
To say the student-athletes are excited to be on the field of play again is an understatement, when asking several players on both teams how excited they are to return, many players said they were ecstatic, joyful, ready to compete, overjoyed and just primed for the season to start. With so much to look forward to, many student-athletes just want that sense of normalcy again that has bypassed many of us the last 18 months. Although, we may never be back to a fully "normal" lifestyle, they cannot wait to come back and become a unified front once again as a Dolphin playing the game they love once again.