The College of Staten Island fall sports programs had a very successful week on the field of play last week and for their efforts they were awarded with four weekly honors from the City University of New York Athletic Conference, the most in a single week so far this season. Women’s soccer sophomore Nicole Mignone joined cross-country sophomore Tristiana Adragna as conference Players of the Week, Daniela Zirpolo from women’s soccer was announced as Rookie of the Week in her sports, while men’s soccer keeper Balint Barabas took home the CUNYAC’s Defender of the Week honor.
CSI women’s soccer enjoyed a 2-1 week a week ago, and Mignone took over the team lead in scoring with a tremendous week of offensive out-put. Against Brooklyn College last Thursday, she posted her first career hat trick and added two more assists in a 7-0 CSI win, plating in just 45 minutes of action. Two days later against York College, Mignone added another marker and another assist in just 40 minutes of work in a 9-0 white-washing of the Cardinals. For the season, Mignone now leads the team with seven goals, adding three assists for a total of 17 points. She is fourth on the squad with 19 shots, and the game-winner she had against Brooklyn was her second of the season.
Mignone’s counterpart in the front was Daniela Zirpolo, who also posted a quality week. She logged 67 minutes in CSI’s loss to Stockton University, her second-highest output of the season, and then followed by offering a goal and an assist in just 21 minutes of work against Brooklyn three days later. In the weekend tilt with York, she logged 32 minutes and posted two goals for the first multi-goal game of her career. For the season Zirpolo has just one start, but has poured in four goals with two assists on just 12 total shots.
The women’s soccer campaign will continue when CSI wraps up the regular season and their CUNYAC slate with a matchup against John Jay College on Saturday at Randall’s Island.
On the men’s pitch, CSI posted a 0-1-1 week, but the tie was an impressive one on the road against Stevens Institute of Technology last Wednesday. Barabas got the start in both and faced a season-high 23 shots against Stevens, and made a handful of sprawling terrific saves in what amounted to a shut-out tie, the first shut-out of his young career. Despite a loss three days later, Barabas allowed only a single goal while making two more saves on eight total shots. For the year, the freshman has made eight appearances, allowing only nine goals while making 21 saves.
The CSI men’s soccer team resumed action on Wednesday against John Jay College at the CSI Soccer Complex at 3:00pm.
Wrapping up the award winners was CSI’s first of the season on the cross-country trails. Sophomore Tristiana Adragna has a record-setting run this week at the St, Joseph’s College Invitational at Branch Brook Park in Long Island. In the 5k event, Adragna set a career personal-best with a time of 22:48.5. In the 167-woman field, Adragna scored 30th in the race, and it marked CSI’s finest 5k run of the year. The run was also the 17th-fastest 5k time in CSI history, and was enough to earn her CUNYAC Player of the Week honors.
The women’s cross-country team will have this weekend completely off in time for the CUNYAC Championship a week from Sunday, October 29, at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx at 9am.
