During the fall semester, the City University of New York Athletic Conference will look back at some of its historic fall championship teams, recognizing the rich tradition of athletic excellence by the league’s 13 member institutions.
The City College of New York women’s soccer team made conference history in 2012, earning the league’s first-ever automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Championship.
Coming off a season in which the squad went 8-8-1 overall, the Beavers improved their win total, going 13-4 overall and 5-1 in conference play during the regular season to earn the No. 2 seed in the CUNYAC Women’s Soccer Championship.
Led by CUNYAC Coach of the Year,
Don Manfria, five CCNY players earned CUNYAC All-Star recognition. Senior forward
Dzindzi Asamoah-Wade was crowned Player of the Year, while junior defender
Heather Ruger and senior midfielder
Frances Tapi earned first team accolades. In addition, junior goalkeeper
Nicole Carroll and first-year forward
Paola Ramos were voted to the second team.
CCNY opened the tournament against third-seeded Lehman, blanketing the Lightning, 7-0. Ramos and
Tabitha Azor scored two goals apiece, while Tapia handed out four assists, helping the Beavers advance to the championship match against regular season champion and host, Staten Island.
Entering the contest, CCNY had suffered a 3-0 letdown to the Dolphins in the regular season finale nine days prior, helping CSI secure the No. 1 seed for a third consecutive campaign.
The Beavers pulled off the upset against the conference foe, using a goal from the league’s Player of the Year in the 21st minute, when Asamoah-Wade corralled a loose ball from the top of the box away from a would-be CSI defender. With CSI keeper
Jennifer Coughlan bearing down on the ball, Wade chipped her shot high, scoring a goal into what was essentially a wide-open net for the match’s lone score. Following her performance, Asamoah-Wade was tabbed the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
The win was the Beavers’ second CUNYAC Championship in program history and first since 2009. The victory also snapped CSI’s 16-game unbeaten streak (15-0-1) against league opponents.
CCNY faced off against No. 14 nationally ranked TCNJ in the NCAA Opening Round, suffering a 6-0 loss. The Beavers wrapped up the historic campaign with a 5-0 victory over Yeshiva, concluding the season at 16-5. The squad’s 16 victories are the most in a season in program history and at the time were the most ever by a conference member.
#CUNYAC Fall Throwback Series