The College of Staten Island women’s soccer saw their winless streak extended to three games, as Rutgers-Camden used a pair of second-half goals to get past the Dolphins, 2-0, as part of non-conference play at the CSI Soccer Complex. CSI fell to 6-7-2 overall on the season, while the Scarlet Raptors extended to 6-9-1 overall.
In the driving drizzle and against a fierce wind, the teams clawed through a scoreless first half, one that saw a sizable momentum shift. At first it was RU putting on most of the pressure, but the Dolphins’ offsides trap was effective, forcing seven first half offsides violations by the Raptors. During that stretch, RU posted a 7-1 edge in shots, forcing CSI keeper Victoria Donegan into four early saves.
After weathering the early storm, however, CSI seemed to get on track, and put together a series of runs at the Raptors’ end, culminating in a series of shots, including a pair by Deanna Kvetkoff and another by Danielle Smith, easily CSI’s best chance, as the junior came bearing down on RU keeper’s Angela Martorano’s right side, putting one just wide on the short side. Moments later, RU countered with their best opportunity, as Lauren Celona muscled a ball while coming down the right flank off of the crossbar and out of play.
After a deadlocked first half the second half started and the rains came. In the driving rain and now with the wind at their backs, RU finally put on enough pressure to break through. Leading scorer Catherine Fiore broke through via a turnover on a breakaway, putting one past Donegan’s right side to make it 1-0 just 12 minutes into the second stanza. CSI was forced to press, and this time RU tallied again via the counterattack. On a loose ball play, Amber Cobb converged on the ball and sent a winding kick into the goal box that a back=pedaling Donegan could not catch up to and although the keeper got a piece of the ball it was punched through for a goal to make it 2-0 at 66:10.
With healthy numbers now poured into the defensive backfield, RU held from there, allowing only two shots the rest of the way (one on goal) to wrap things up.
RU controlled the edge in shots 18-12 (11-6 on goal), and held a 4-1 edge in corner kicks taken. Donegan made 9 saves for the Dolphins, while Martorano garnered six in the shutout win. Fiore led all field players with 9 shots, five on goal.
CSI will next face off against John Jay College on Saturday, October 25, at 12 Noon, in a non-conference game. CSI will honor its five seniors on the day as well, as part of Senior Day at the College.
