The College of Staten Island men’s soccer team is the third CSI team to kick off its season, and they will do so today at 2pm, when they face off against Wisconsin-Platteville as part of the CSI Fall Classic. Competition started yesterday when WI-Platteville fell to NJCU, 1-0, and the CSI vs. Pioneers game today will follow a game between NJCU and St. Joseph’s College of Brooklyn, to kick off at 12 Noon.
CSI vs. WISCONSIN-PLATTEVILLE AT-A-GLANCE
Matchup: CSI (0-0) vs. Wisconsin-Platteville (0-1)
Where: College of Staten Island, Staten Island, NY
All-Time Series: First Meeting
Players to Watch (CSI): The Dolphins lost a host of seniors from a year ago, but are restocked and have a series of upperclassmen all due to make an impact for the 2017 campaign. Seniors Adrian Cosovic and Dardan Nika are expected to be focal points at the top of the attack and both have a nose for the goal. Fellow senior and CUNYAC All-Star Vasyl Fedortsi is the captain in the midfield and is expected to steady the offense and ball movement. Back line duo Matthew Bessler (Jr.) and Eric Conde (So.) saw consistent minutes last year and are expected to jockey for back line time this season as well. With CUNYAC Rookie of the Year Jake Foeldes nursing injury, CSI will look to freshmen Ivan Barreraserao, Oscar Torres and Balint Barabas to peddle for time between the pipes.
Players to Watch (WI-Platte): Senior Jon Stopple is one of just three seniors on the Pioneers squad, and he led the way yesterday with five of the team’s 12 shots against NJCU. Logan Rinderknecht is the major focal point offensively, coming off of a terrific 2016 where he tallied 15 goals and added a pair of assists, easily leading the team. Baxton Rottinghaus came off of the bench yesterday, but started all 17 Pioneers games last season, tallying five goals and three assists. Brad Strobel was last year’s team leader with seven assists and he fired off two shots yesterday for the Pioneers in the 1-0 defeat.
News and Notes: This is the first meeting between the two schools in their history, and the teams shared no common opponents a year ago. Wisconsin is coming off of a solid 12-6 season a year ago, and sported a 6-4 road record as well. They are no stranger to scoring, having put up 2.39 goals per game a year ago on an average of 15.3 shots per game. Last year, they were shut out in only one game, so the shutout they suffered yesterday certainly hasn’t come often. Meanwhile, CSI’s claim to fame has been their defense. Last year, they held opponents to just 0.77 goals per game on just 10.1 shots, while posting 11 shutouts. The Dolphins were also great on their home field last year, sporting an 8-3-2 record, as opposed to a 4-5 road record.
