The College of Staten Island women’s soccer team has its sights set on a CUNYAC Regular Season Championship, and that will be determined this afternoon at Randall’s Island, when they face off against the John Jay College Bloodhounds in their final game before the Postseason Tournament kicks off. Both teams are 3-0-1 in conference play this season, so today’s game will determine who wins the title.
CSI vs JOHN JAY COLLEGE
Matchup: CSI (10-5-1, 3-0-1 CUNYAC) vs. John Jay (7-7-1 , 3-0-1 CUNYAC)
Where: Randall’s Island Field 10 – 20 Randall’s Island Park, New York, NY
All-Time Series: CSI leads 14-0-2
Last Meeting: October 22, 2016 – CSI won 2-0
Players to Watch (CSI): A pair of lopsided victories for the Dolphins helped sophomore Nicole Mignone take over the team lead in scoring. She now has seven goals, three more than any other Dolphin and has 17 points overall, four more than Victoria Sanchez, who has three goals and a team-best six assists. Lauren Smith leads the team with 36 shots taken, having punched in two goals herself. The goalkeeping duties will likely go to Kaila DiBenedetto today. She has made 10 starts and has given up just 12 goals while making 26 saves. Senior Kaitlin Russo is the only Dolphins player to start every game this year. Look for her to be a fixture in the starting lineup again today.
Players to Watch (JJC): Look for some serious offense today from Kimberly Robledo, who has poured in 12 goals in 15 games this season. Right on her heels is Camila Vasquez, who has nine goals and two helpers for 20 overall points. They are also 1-2 in shots for the Bloodhounds as Robledo has 39 and Vasquez, 27. Jaime Bilotti and Zola Campbell have started every game for JJC, so look for them to be in active for this one. In between the pipes look for Kelli Doherty, who leads the way with nine starts, making a team high 59 saves while allowing 17 goals.
News & Notes: The Dolphins have never lost to the Bloodhounds in program history, so the Bloodhounds are looking to make this a historical game for a couple of reasons. CSI has won the last nine meetings by a combined score of 31-0. In fact, CSI has not allowed a goal against John Jay since October 13, 2005, in what was a 1-1 tie at the time, so the Bloodhounds have not scored a goal on the Dolphins in 1,370 minutes in the series. The Dolphins are 5-0 all-time against John Jay on the road. Aside from teams played in the conference, the only common opponent between the two teams was Kean University. The Cougars defeated both the Bloodhounds (8-0) and the Dolphins (5-1). Today’s game will determine the winner of the CUNYAC Regular Season Championship. Whoever wins will win the title outright. In the event of a tie, CSI would win the Championship (unofficially) based on goal differential (CSI is a +22 while John Jay is -3). Regardless of the finish, both of these teams will host CUNYAC Semifinal matches when the postseason kicks off on November 1.
