With the 2014 soccer season in the books, the ECAC Metro region announced its top yearly honors and four Dolphins were handsomely rewarded. CSI head coach John Tardy took top-billing, winning the region’s top coaching honor, and senior Alfonso Castaneda led a group of four midfielders on the squad’s first-team. Sophomores Ruben Diaz and Nermin Kurtesi also earned on, named to the conference’s second-team.
In his third season, Tardy led the Dolphins to their first regular season title since 2003, as the team posted a 6-1-1 regular season mark. The team finished 10-9-2 overall after an auspicious 0-5 start to the campaign. CSI ultimately fell in the CUNYAC Semifinals to eventual-champion Baruch College. In his three seasons, CSI has improved in the standings each year, and Tardy boasts an overall mark of 30-31-4.
Senior Castaneda put the finishing touches on a great career in 2014. Playing virtually every position on the field, Castaneda eventually found his home in the midfield, where he quarterbacked the team to five goals and two assists on a team-high 63 shots, posting a team-best two game-winning goals. For his career, Castaneda finished second in CSI history with 23 career assists and 9th overall with 22 goals. His 254 career shots place him first in CSI history, 110 more than any other player.
Sophomore Ruben Diaz was a stalwart on the back line for the Dolphins in his inaugural season with the team. Diaz added a goal on 10 total shots, but it was his anchoring in the back that got his posted to the all-star squad. Nermin Kurtesi got off to a slow start but the midfielder would go on to post second on the squad with seven goals, adding a pair of assists on 28 shots this season, also the first in a CSI uniform for the sophomore. Kurtesi did miss three games due to injury but was one of CSI’s biggest offensive forced towards the latter half of the season.
Rutgers-Camden’s Joe Auleta won top ECAC Metro honors for Player of the Year, while Marcus Hackett from William Paterson University won for top defensive player. New York University’s Malcolm Montilus and Mount Saint Vincent’s Dennis Reyes were awarded Co-Rookie of the Year honors.
