CUNYAC Soccer Presented by Brine
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Semifinals for the 2014 CUNYAC/Brine Women’s Soccer Tournament took place on Wednesday, November 5 at Brooklyn College. The first matchup saw the top-seed and defending champion Brooklyn Bulldogs defeat the #4 CCNY Beavers 1-0 in overtime. Directly following that game, the #2 CSI Dolphins took down the #3 Lehman Lightning 5-0. The winners advance to the final on Saturday, November 8 at 2:00 pm for a rematch of last season’s final where the winner will earn the coveted CUNYAC’s NCAA Tournament Automatic Qualification.
#1 Brooklyn Bulldogs 1, #4 CCNY Beavers 0 (OT) - Box Score
The first semifinal of the 2014 CUNYAC/Brine Tournament featured a rematch of a semifinal from last season with the top-seeded Brooklyn Bulldogs taking on the #4 CCNY Beavers. The defending champion Bulldogs showed their championship prowess as they dominated play and came away with a 1-0 victory in overtime and outshot the Beavers 36-2.
“The ladies could have given up but they didn’t,” said Brooklyn Head Coach Patrick Horne. “They kept their composure and their focus and eventually got the goal.”
The action was all Brooklyn in the first half as CCNY barely controlled the ball on the Brooklyn side of the field. A shot directly at CCNY’s Emily Ramos in the 11th minute by Brooklyn’s Sayla Flores was the first shot on goal of the game. The first close shot of the game came in the 20th minute when Brooklyn’s Serene Drakes smashed the ball off the crossbar. The ricochet went to Isabelle Lalami who hit the ball just over the crossbar for the second narrow miss in just a few seconds time.
Bergelie Louis of the Bulldogs created some space with nice footwork before launching a shot that was saved by a leaping Ramos in the 37th minute. Three minutes later, Lalami smashed the ball right at Ramos to no avail. In the 40th minute, Lalami had another chance to score but a diving save by Ramos kept the game scoreless. The final scoring opportunity came off the head of Shani Nakhid-Schuster but CCNY defenders were able to knock it away. The half would end with the teams
Lalami kept putting the pressure on CCNY with three shots, two on goal, in the first seven minutes. Both shots were saved by Ramos relatively easily. In the 54th minute, Stefany Ibarra created some space and launched an arcing shot towards the goal that Ramos was able to snag to keep the game scoreless. A minute later, Brooklyn’s 2013 CUNYAC Rookie of the Year Jordan Kerwin found herself wide open in front of the net but knocked the ball up and over to keep the game at 0-0..
The 59th minute saw another strong shot by Lalami but Ramos once again was able to lunge and save the shot. Kerwin hit a high curving shot in the 64th minute that Ramos was able to camp under and keep from hitting the back of the goal. Louis followed that up a minute late with a shot on goal that brought Ramos up to 10 total saves on the game. Another shot by Louis in the 75th minute looked like it would break the scoreless streak but Ramos was jumped on by Ramos for the save. Ibarra took two deep shots in the 76th and 79th minutes that went straight to Ramos. A skipping shot by Louis towards the post was once again saved by Ramos in the 80th minute for her 14th save of the game. That would be the last shot on goal of the second half as the game went to overtime.
In the 92nd minute, 2013 CUNYAC Tournament MVP Sayla Flores shot from deep but a diving stop by Ramos kept the Beavers alive. A few minutes later, the inevitable happened as Ibarra passed the ball to Flores put a shot in the back of the net from the top of the box to give Brooklyn the 1-0 win in overtime.
For the game, CCNY’s Emily Ramos tallied 15 saves while the Bulldogs outshot the Beavers 36-2.
With the victory, Brooklyn earned their spot in the CUNYAC/Brine Championship Final on November 8 at 2:00pm.
#2 CSI Dolphins 5, #3 Lehman Lightning 0 - Box Score
The second semifinal matchup featured the #2 seeded CSI Dolphins and the #3 seed Lehman Lightning. Last season’s Championship runner-up scored early and often en route to dominating the game and winning 5-0. The victory cements CSI’s place in the Championship game for the fifth straight season.
“I feel very confident with this team,” said CSI head coach John Guagliardo. “We lost Wysokowski earlier in the year, we lost freshman Kaitlyn Russo, but we have something we have to pay back from last year.”
The Dolphins dominated play early in the first half. After posting the first shot on goal on a harmless deep angle shot from the right side, Staten Island continued pressuring the Lightning and got on the board five minutes in with a nifty goal by Danielle Smith. The junior received a perfect cross from Danielle Alexandrini and was left wide open in front of the net. The easy tap in goal gave the Dolphins a 1-0 lead.
Senior Melissa Gelardi doubled the Dolphins lead in the 8th minute. On a free kick, Gelardi rocketed one that was perfectly placed in the top of the net, just above a leaping Stephanie Gonzalez.
The Dolphins nearly extended their lead again off another right side shot by Danielle Smith, but Gonzalez fully extended to make a diving save and keep the Lightning’s deficit at two. Lehman’s attempts to cut the deficit in half were negated by a trio of offsides calls. The offense couldn’t seem to get going and repeatedly got pinned in their own defensive end.
Staten Island kept the pressure on in the 23rd minute. Gelardi skied another free kick toward the net, but a diving Gonzalez was able to make a big save on a shot that might have otherwise been ticketed for the upper left corner of the net. Despite being heavily defended near the top of the box, Gabriela Romero was able to turn and launch a shot towards the goal in the 24th minute, however it sailed just over the net. Romero and Jennifer Cosenza negotiated a give-and-go play in the 33rd minute that saw Romero fairly open near the top of the box, but her shot was shanked wide left and the play failed to result in the crucial third goal.
With 6 minutes remaining, Gelardi once again showed her prowess off the free kick by booming a shot on net that was nearly identical to her goal earlier in the half. Gonzalez barely got a hand on the shot, but it wasn’t enough to deflect the ball away from trouble. Deanna Kvetkoff was able to race in and tap the goalkeeper’s deflection into the back of the net to extend the Staten Island lead to 3. The Dolphins were able to successfully thwart Lehman’s two biggest threats in Lillian Barreto and Juliana Generoso through the first 45 minutes and went into the second half leading 3-0.
The Lightning came out in the second half and caught the Dolphins flat-footed, getting a quality scoring chance merely 30 seconds in. A crossing pass was placed right in the goal mouth and Daisy Narvaez was presented with an opportunity to score, but her shot deflected over the net. Things quieted down after that play for a few minutes. Gelardi had another free kick in the 51st minute, but it was from much further out than her previous three and the harmless shot was stopped easily by Stephanie Gonzalez.
With 38 minutes remaining, Gabriela Romero streaked through the middle and threaded a pass over to freshman Stephanie Rivera, but her attempt grazed the crossbar and deflected over the net. Less than a minute later, an area of clutter at the top of the box produced another shot by Rivera. This time, the Brooklyn native hit her mark as she put it in the upper left corner to make the Staten Island lead 4-0.
Lehman had an opportunity in the 56th minute to chip away at the deficit on a Samantha Dias free kick, but the shot was directed right towards Victoria Donegan. On the ensuing play, Gelardi streaked down the right wing and blasted a shot off the crossbar and into the net. Her second goal of the game made the score 5-0 Dolphins.
On a crossing play by Gabriela Romero, Rivera was able to once again get a quality scoring chance, however this time Gonzalez was able to extend her right leg and make the kick save. Seconds later, another distant shot tested Gonzalez’s vertical skills. The rookie goalkeeper got a hand on the Danielle Smith shot and was able to hang on to the rebound.
Lillian Barreto of Lehman made an attempt to break the Lightning’s scoring drought in the 67th minute when she strode down the right side with only one defender to beat, but she held the ball a bit too long and saw her shot get blocked. After a stoppage of play, Lehman’s Dias was awarded a free kick but the attempt was blocked by the midsection of Kristy Colangelo. Despite their best efforts, they couldn’t replace the 0 on the scoreboard with a 1.
The final 20 minutes of the game yielded very little in terms of offensive chances and action. The only question remaining was whether could preserve Donegan’s shutout. Stout defensive play and controlling the ball in Lehman’s zone allowed the Dolphins to do just that, as they ultimately secured their 5-0 win.
For the game, Staten Island tallied 31 shots and 14 on goal while the Lightning managed only 13 shots and 8 on goal.
With the victory, the Dolphins earned their spot in the CUNYAC/Brine Championship Final on November 8 at 2:00pm.
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