BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Oct. 30, 2018) - On a brisk Tuesday night in Brooklyn, the top seeds in the 2018 CUNYAC/USS Men's Soccer Championship held serve, with No. 1 Staten Island and No. 2 Baruch advancing to Saturday's final.

Staten Island erased a 1-0 halftime deficit and pulled out a 2-1 overtime victory against John Jay, while Baruch netted a pair of second-half goals to defeat Lehman, 2-0.

Staten Island 2, John Jay 1
Despite being outshot 9-1 in the opening 45 minutes of play, the Bloodhounds made the most of their only opportunity to grab a 1-0 advantage -- a lead they took into halftime.

In the ninth minute, sophomore midfielder Mergim Mehmeti flicked a pass on to a streaking Joey Licciardi, who beat CSI netminder Christian Carucci for the game's first goal.

The Dolphins continued to pour on the shots in the second half, but John Jay sophomore keeper Steven Towler was tall to the task.

However, in the 65th minute, CSI struck for the equalizer. Off a re-start, junior midfielder/defender Ryan Layman bent a free kick around the wall and inside the left post to even the match at 1-1.

"It was huge. It just brought our whole team up. After that, we started playing great," said CSI sophomore forward Bryant Navarro, the game's eventual hero.

It would take extra time to decide the contest. Just 58 seconds into overtime, junior midfielder Philip Lefkowitz raced down the right flank and played a cross for a Navarro tap-in that sent the Dolphins to the victory.

"I saw my teammate Macki pass the ball and Phil made the run," quoted Navarro about the play that set up the game-winning goal. "I wasn't expecting the ball there, but I am happy that I was able to score."

"It feels good to get a win," said CSI Head Coach John Tardy. "We started off a little slow. I told my guys to stay composed and keep attacking and they responded well."

Baruch 2, Lehman 0
A key foul in the box was all the difference in the nightcap. In the 70th minute, Lehman committed a handball inside the 18 that awarded Baruch a penalty kick in a scoreless game.

It was sophomore defender Alexey Arefev that stepped to the spot and drilled his attempt past Lehman keeper Chris Mulholland for the late one-goal advantage.

"The win feels great. It's something we worked on all season and worked hard every day at practice for. It sets us up great for the future and we want to take it much further," Arefev said.

That proved to be all the Bearcats needed, but Baruch tacked on some insurance soon after. With just over 11 minutes left, senior midfielder Shaiem Allah Morad connected on a Natari Mohammed through ball, making it a 2-0 contest.

The Bearcats, who were outshot 7-3 in the first half, more than tripled up the Lightning in the shot category (11-3) in the latter 45 minutes. Freshman goalkeeper Kellen Sela saved both shots he faced on the night for Baruch.

"Obviously, it feels good (to be going to the championship final), commented Baruch Head Coach Dima Kamenshchik. "It's a credit to Lehman for playing a tough game. We started attacking better and got fortunate enough to get the momentum going on our side."

Kamenshchik then added about the Bearcats' next opponent: "CSI is the No. 1 team in this tournament. Needless to say, they have a fantastic record and a great team all-around. The key is going to be to play a hard game and bring the game to them. We need to be aggressive and respect them for the full 90 minutes. We will be up to the task."