STATEN ISLAND, NY – The College of Staten Island men's soccer team hosted East Coast Conference (ECC) opponents St. Thomas Aquinas College (STAC) Wednesday afternoon at Dolphins Soccer Park. Despite playing shorthanded for the majority of the contest, the Dolphins held the Spartans scoreless until the final minutes before falling, 1-0.

Despite the disadvantage, the Dolphins kept STAC's offense in check throughout the first half. CSI recorded no shots in the opening 45 minutes while limiting the Spartans to just three attempts to keep the game scoreless at halftime.

Koray Arslan recorded the Dolphins' first shot of the afternoon, narrowly missing wide of the right side of the goal. STAC continued to apply offensive pressure, but Carlos Romero Astacio came up with several critical saves to keep the Spartans off the scoreboard. CSI came close to breaking the deadlock when Nicolo Cimini headed the ball toward goal, but the attempt narrowly missed crossing the goal line, leaving the Dolphins without a score.

After Romero Astacio continued to make key stops, the Spartans found their breakthrough with just three minutes remaining. STAC dribbled down the far side of the field before finding the back of the net to take a late 1-0 lead.

As time expired, the Dolphins were unable to find an equalizer, falling by a single goal while playing shorthanded. The defeat moves CSI to 4-6-2 overall and 2-4-2 in ECC play.

The College of Staten Island men's soccer team returns to Dolphins Soccer Park for its final game of the regular season on Saturday, hosting West Chester University (Pa.) at 2:30 PM.

GAME REPLAY