The College of Staten Island men’s soccer team has gotten off to a hot start this season, and will look to stay unbeaten as they clash with undefeated Rowan University, the No. 6 ranked team in the nation, also sitting at 3-0 this year. The game will take place at the CSI Soccer Complex at 2pm, and is part of a soccer doubleheader. At 4pm, John Jay College will face off against Penn State – Behrend.
CSI vs. ROWAN UNIVERSITY AT-A-GLANCE
Matchup: CSI (3-0 overall, 0-0 CUNYAC) vs. Rowan University (3-0 Overall, 0-0 NJAC)
Where: CSI Soccer Complex, 2800 Victory Blvd., Staten Island, NY
Kick-Off: 2:00pm
Live Video: http://www.csidolphins.com/CSISportsNet
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/csi/msoc
All-Time Series: Rowan leads, 2-0
Last Year’s Result: Rowan won, 4-0
Players To Watch (CSI): No player is hotter for the Dolphins than Marcin Klim, who earned CUNYAC Player of the Week honors after a tremendous opening week that saw him tally six goals and an assist with 17 shots. Klim ended the week with a career-best four-goal performance against Yeshiva on Monday. The Dolphins have also not given up a goal this season, partly due to the inspired play of Jacob Szumanski, the CUNYAC Defender of the Week, who logged 257 minutes, never allowing much of a chance on the back line. Speaking of shutouts, freshman keeper Jake Foeldes has logged 222+ minutes of scoreless play in net, making seven saves.
Players To Watch (RU): Will Sjaastad is the early goal leader for the Profs, banking in two goals on just six shots thus far. He registered the only goal in the win over No. 3 Oneonta on Monday. Jake Conners has assisted on a pair this season. Look for his play in the middle to be crucial to the team’s success. Dennis Kyle has been busy between the pipes so far this season, logging all 270 minutes in goal yielding just two goals next to 12 saves.
News and Notes: The Dolphins and Profs have a young history having only played each other in each of the past two years, both wins by Rowan. In 2014, Rowan defeated CSI, 3-1, and last year, Rowan broke open a 0-0 halftime stalemate with four goals in the second half to win 4-0. Junior forward Travis Ward scored twice in the game for Rowan, while leading scorer Sjaastad also tallied. This is the first time the two schools are meeting at the College of Staten Island. Rowan has already defeated two nationally-ranked schools this season in No. 10 Lycoming and No. 3 Oneonta, and they now have a ranking of their own coming into the week. Last year, the Profs finished 16-6, advancing to the NCAA Division III National Tournament. For CSI, they are looking to go 4-0 for only the third time in their 40-year history. Their last 4-0 start came back in 1990, prior to that you’d have to go back to 1980 for the last 4-0 start. CSI forward Marcin Klim is second in the nation in goals scored with six. Montclair State’s Lucas Terci leads the nation with seven.
