The College of Staten Island women’s soccer team battled the harsh weather to win their third straight, this time travelling to Met Oval to take out conference-rival John Jay College, 1-0, in a game held earlier this afternoon.  The win moved the Dolphins to 8-3 overall and 4-1 in the CUNYAC, while also guaranteeing them no less than a No. 2 seed in the four-team CUNYAC Tournament to be held at month’s end.  John Jay fell to 2-6, 1-4, respectively.
The last time the two teams squared off CSI took a lop-sided, 8-0, win at the CSI Soccer Complex, but this time, devastating winds and cold temperatures forced both teams to take a defensive stance the entire way.
“The gusts were up to 40 miles per hour,” said CSI head coach John Guagliardo.  “We were against the wind for the first half and we essentially threw everyone back to protect our goal.”
JJC out-shot the Dolphins, 10-4, in the first stanza with the wind at their backs, but CSI was able to hold off the hungry Bloodhounds.  CSI turned things around in the second frame, out-shooting the home squad, 9-5, and registering the most important shot in the 61st minute.  A Paige Buono centering lead pass found CSI leading scorer Demi-Jean Martorano, who raced in and buried the game-winner.
“We had a feeling stepping onto the field that this could end up being a 1-0 game either way,” said Guagliardo.  “Once we held them in the first half, we felt really good about ourselves and our defense played outstanding soccer in the second half.”
CSI was anchored in the back with a solid performance from Amanda Percaccio, Nicole Quattrocchi, Jessica Levy and Stephanie McNichol.
Up next will be a non-conference test for CSI, when they travel to Madison, New Jersey for a date with the College of St. Elizabeth on Tuesday at 3:30pm.