College of Staten Island Athletics

NYU-Polytechnic used a late first half goal with :19 left to take a 1-0 lead at intermission, then made the most of a steady second-half counter-attacking style, to take a 3-1 win over the visiting Dolphins in what was the season-opening game for both teams this afternoon at Aviator Field in Brooklyn, New York.  The Dolphins fell to 0-1, while the Fighting Blue Jays start their young season 1-0.

In 2009, the two teams played to a scoreless half before NYU-Poly scored three goals in the first 15 minutes of the second stanza to garner a 4-1 win.  2010's installment seemed eerily similar.  The Blue Jays earned the first two quality chances of the afternoon as, on both occasions, a streaking Mamadou Dianko raced past a CSI defense, only to put balls just inches wide of CSI keeper Ahmed El-Ghareib within the game's first 20 minutes.

From there, the game teetered back and forth, as both teams traded good chances.  A Kenneth Zaw strike from just beyond the goal mouth skipped wide of NYU-Poly keeper Robert Petri, while a thunderous shot from CSI's Lirim Begai sailed high over the crossbar with just over 12 minutes to play in the first half.  Inside of five minutes to play in the frame, however, CSI's defense let their guard slip, and a series of failed clear-out attempts led to NYU-Poly chances.  The last of which came inside of a minute when after a CSI turnover, NYU-Poly's Adrian Hurtado put a high through-ball over the CSI defense onto the waiting head of Adam Lakawitz, who rainbowed a header past El-Ghareib to give the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead with just 19 ticks remaining in the frame.

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