After a sensational three-year stint as the Head Coach of the College of Staten Island women’s soccer team, Giuseppe Pennetti is stepping down from his position. For Pennetti, he will depart the team having won three-straight conference titles having amassed a sensational 36-16-5 record (.644) leading the Dolphins to the NCAA Division III Championship for the first time in their history three years in a row.
“Any time as a coach you leave a position it’s going to be very sad, especially when it comes at a point when financially it’s not suitable to sustain and maintain the position that you desire,” Pennetti said. “I am very thankful for the time I had at CSI and wish everyone the best of luck.”
Pennetti’s departure comes side-by-side with future changes for the position, which will include an intended move to full-time status paired with other administrative duties. The search for Pennetti’s replacement will begin immediately.
“For the past several years we have made great strides with transitioning our part-time coaching staff into full-time positions and we’re excited that our women’s soccer coach is next in line for the switch,” said Director of Athletics Charles Gomes. “We are hopeful that a full-time coach will be able to build upon the progress that Coach Pennetti started in 2015 and make our women’s soccer team one of the more competitive programs in the region.”
Taking over from long-tenured head man John Guagliardo in 2015, Pennetti guided the Dolphins to a 13-5-1 campaign his initial year, complete with a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory over top-seeded Lehman College in the CUNYAC Championship, marking CSI’s first title since 2011. A year later and with a roster that featured over a dozen new faces, CSI finished 12-5-2, defeating Brooklyn, 2-0, in the Championship to garner another NCAA postseason appearance. Last year, Pennetti completed his first undefeated conference season, guiding the Dolphins to a 5-0-1 regular season campaign (13-6-2 overall) en route to a 2-0 win over Lehman College, giving CSI its 9th CUNYAC Championship and its first three-peat since 2008.
“In 2015 Coach Pennetti came into a situation that was less than ideal and made immediate changes that established a culture of winning for our program,” said Gomes. “NCAA appearances are now the norm for the CSI women’s soccer program and that is the standard by which future coaches will be measured.”
For Pennetti, the time spent with the College is one he will remember fondly, having led the team at a critical juncture in its history. Women’s Soccer is still one of the newer sports at the College, having been introduced only in 2004.
“It was three years but ones filled with a lifetime of memories to enjoy,” Pennetti said. “From when the program was initially handed over to me with all the hard work we put in building it to what it has been these past three years, I can look back and say it was a huge success. We were looked down upon as a conference for women’s soccer we now compete on a regional level with some of the best teams. We definitely have a lot to be proud of.”
CSI will have an abridged, non-traditional spring season in late-March, capping another excellent year. In September they will begin defense of their CUNYAC Championship, having graduated a handful of players from their 2017 roster.
