The College of Staten Island men’s soccer team played to a 0-0 draw, after failing to score for the third straight game, against John Jay College at the CSI Soccer Complex in Staten Island, NY this afternoon. The draw moved the Dolphins to 9-5-2 (4-3-1 CUNYAC) to finish the season with the No. 5 seed heading into the CUNYAC Quarterfinal while the Bloodhounds locked in the second seed and a trip to the CUNYAC Semifinal with an 8-6-1 (6-1-1 CUNYAC) record.
The first half saw the Dolphins dominate a majority of the half, posting 11 shots, with three forcing Steven Towler to make a save. Shots have not been hard to come by this season for the men, however, they have been unable to make the opposing goalkeeper work. CSI’s best chance was when Philip Lefkowitz received a pass and made a beautiful turn which put himself through on goal. Lefkowitz uncorked a shot that would hit off of the side netting which would turn out to be the best opportunity for the Dolphins in the first half.
Adrian Cosovic found himself one-on-one with Towler and knocked the ball past Towler only to be taken out with no whistle blown. Cosovic would create another opportunity for the Dolphins when he knocked the ball over his head to a streaking Bryant Navarro would be also taken out in the box with no whistle.
There was more of the same in the second half for the Dolphins as they continued to dominate the center of the pitch thanks to senior midfielder Vasyl Fedortsi who refused to let any ball get past him this afternoon. Fedortsi won header after header, feeding his forwards the ball only to see their shots soar over the crossbar. Goalkeeper Balint Barabas played well once again and was only called upon once to make a save in 110 minutes of action.
Mike Arellanes nearly sealed the deal for the Dolphins in the 84th minute of the game when he received a pass on the right flank and hit one off the inside of the post after it snuck underneath an outstretched Towler.
With neither team able to put the ball in the back of the net, the game would head into extra time. CSI created several good opportunities in extra time with the majority of possession playing out in John Jay’s final third. Ryan Layman had a great opportunity to end the game but watched his header go wide left. Just three minutes later, Lefkowitz had a golden opportunity on net by headed the ball just to the right of a wide-open goal.
After all of the thrilling action in the first extra time, the second extra time was dulled down as both teams looked exhausted as they couldn’t generate a good opportunity.
The Dolphins will play their final regular season game at home against Arcadia on Saturday, October 21 at 12:00 pm for their final tune-up before the CUNYAC Playoffs.
