The College of Staten Island women’s soccer team starts their season this afternoon when they travel to Union, NJ to take on non-conference opponents, Kean University at 5:00 pm.
CSI vs. KEAN UNIVERSITY
Matchup: College of Staten Island (0-0) vs. Kean University (0-0)
Where: Kean University – Union, NJ
All-Time Series: Kean lead, 2-0
Players to Watch (CSI): The Dolphins have a healthy core of players returning to the pitch. In the center of the pitch, Lauren Smith will continue controlling the tempo of play and distributing the ball into crucial areas. Nicole Mignone hopes to continue right where she left off last season after she led the team with eight goals while adding four assists for a team-high 20 points. Anchoring the back four, Catherine Mulligan is primed for her senior season and it will start today against the Cougars, a team that averaged nearly two goals per game last season. Between the sticks will be the starter from last year, Kaila DiBenedetto and she will look to improve upon her 1.27 goals against average from her freshman campaign.
Players to Watch (KU): The Cougars lost two of their three top scorers from last season so the lights will be on senior forward, Sabrina Pascarella to carry the team. Lexy Monroy finished last season with a pair of assists which was good for third on the team, however, with the loss of their seniors from a season ago, Monroy will look to find Pascarella in the open field to put her on goal.
News & Notes: Both the Dolphins and Cougars averaged 17 shots per game last season which led to a healthy two goals per game for the Dolphins and nearly two goals per game for the Cougars. Kean is not a team that gets penalized often as last year they received just two yellow cards all year compared to six for the Dolphins. These teams have met twice before with Kean coming out on top both times, once at the CSI Soccer Complex and once in Union, NJ. The Dolphins haven’t lost their opening game since the 2014 season where they fell to Illinois I.T, 2-1.
