The College of Staten Island women’s soccer team kept on rolling this afternoon with a 1-0 extra time victory over Old Westbury at the CSI Soccer Complex. The win marks the third straight against the Panthers giving the Dolphins a 5-4 lead in the series. On the season, the Dolphins improved to 4-0 with the win while knocking the Panthers down to 0-2.
CSI put pressure on the defense of Old Westbury right from the initial whistle. The Dolphins controlled the tempo of the entire ga?me and held a 65-35 edge in possession time and blanked the Panthers in shots. The women posted a total of 24 shots, their highest of the season, against the Panthers, 10 of which forced Alexa Higgins to make a save. With the shutout, the Dolphins have now gone 304 minutes without allowing a goal.
The Dolphins were able to uncork 11 shots in the first half but none really threatened to score as the Dolphins were feeling out Higgins. The Dolphins kept their attack on, although the Panthers’ defense absorbed wave after wave of Dolphins attacks. CSI was anxious to put one in the back of the net in the first half and was called for 9 offside calls to just one in the second half.
Coach Giuseppe Pennetti was able to coach up his team at half time to adjust their attack to limit the offside calls on his team. The adjustment worked for the Dolphins as they saw better production in the second half and even saw a shot by Natalia Sandor bounce off the far post. Brittany Bornstad and Lauren Smith teamed up nicely in the center of the pitch this afternoon as they combined for 11 shots with six of them forcing Higgins to take action.
With the score knotted up at 0-0 at the final whistle, the Dolphins went into extra time for the first time this season. They wouldn’t need much time to end the game and pick up their fourth win of the season. Newcomer Kiara Meza-Mendez received a pass from Kaitlin Russo near the end line and curled it over the keeper’s head, at a near impossible angle, to end the game just one minute into extra time.
The Dolphins will return to action on Wednesday, September 13 at 7:00 pm where they will travel to take on CUNYAC opponents Lehman College for the first conference game of the year.
