Staten Island, NY | Samantha LaValle and Nermina Bracic both struck twice this afternoon at the CSI Soccer Complex as the Dolphins won their third straight. CSI defeated Rosemont College 5-0 on a cold afternoon to improve to 10-6 overall while the Ravens dropped to 4-11.
From the starting whistle, the Dolphins were all over the Ravens in their final third. Just one minute into the game, Rebecca D’Aloia put Emma Lindsay to work, putting her shot on target forcing Lindsay to make a save. The Dolphins kept possession on Rosemont’s side of the field for a majority of the first half, peppering Lindsay in net. Samantha LaValle was able to cash in, in the 19th minute, defeating several defenders to find an opening and slip her shot under Lindsay.
Staten Island would keep threatening, Adrianna Parello uncorked a free kick from 27 yards out and saw it bounce off of the crossbar, preventing her from doubling the Dolphins’ lead. The Ravens packed it in after that, limiting the Dolphins’ scoring opportunities.
The second half was a much different story than the first. The Ravens opened up their formation to try and tie the game up but that gave the Dolphins more chances with the newly found space. It took the Dolphins 20 minutes but they doubled their lead. Nermina Bracic switched to the right wing, after playing the left wing in the first half, and was able to exploit her matchup. Rebecca D’Aloia was able to find Bracic in the box for an easy tap-in on an open net.
After Bracic scored, the floodgates opened and the Dolphins tallied three more goals in a 10-minute span. It started with LaValle collecting the brace off of a cross by Aparicio. LaValle connected with the ball to flick it over the defender and an outstretched Lindsay and pushed it into the back of an open net for the game’s third goal. Bracic would strike just two minutes later when Mirsade Pelinkovic sent a high through-ball over the top which found a streaking Bracic who was able to hit a low driven shot to the far post.
After being held shotless in the first half, the Ravens made a concerted effort to get their offense going in the second half. Kaila DiBenedetto was called upon twice to make a save. Maciana Mazzeo hit a knuckleball free kick at DiBenedetto and after stepping the wrong way, was able to change direction to make a diving save to parry the ball out of danger.
Lizbeth Aparicio added a fifth goal in the dying minutes of the game after Parello’s corner kick found the head of Madison Baialardo who was able to skip it to Aparicio at the back post. Aparicio redirected it into the goal to cap off an outstanding final home game for the Dolphins.
The Dolphins will head into the CUNYAC Tournament as the number one seed after not losing a CUNYAC game all season. The CUNYAC Tournament begins on Wednesday, October 31 at Brooklyn College at 4:00 pm.
GAME VIDEO
