The College of Staten Island and Medgar Evers College played to a 1-1 draw in women’s soccer action at Aviator Field in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday afternoon. The come-from-behind tie saw the Dolphins crawl out of a hole that they found themselves in just five minutes into play. With the draw, CSI is now 2-4-2 on the season and 0-0-2 in the CUNYAC, while Medgar Evers advanced to 5-3-2 overall and 1-0-1 in CUNYAC play.
The Cougars were the first team to strike and they didn’t have to wait long to grab the lead. At the 5:53 mark, Kerissa Harris laced a crossing pass from the right side, and it found the boot of Giselle Morgan, who pumped in one of her three shots on goal into the back of the net for a quick, 1-0, lead. From there, Medgar Evers was able to keep the Dolphins at bay, and both teams had only a few quality chances as they combined for just five shots on goal in the half.
Needing a goal just to tie, CSI started going more on the offensive in the second frame. After earning just a single shot on goal in the first half, the Dolphins tested Medgar keeper Jasmine Rodriguez more in the second, putting together four shots on net. One of the earlier shots was the one that found paydirt. Lauren Neglia was the beneficiary, this time by way of a free kick that found the back of the frame to knot the score at 1-1. Again, both teams played cautious defensively, not willing to give away a quality scoring chance and the game moved into overtime still tied.
The overtime session obviously did not yield any results as both goalies made a couple of stops to preserve the tie.
Medgar Evers finished the game with a 19-10 shot advantage (10-6 on goal), and both teams had the benefits of six corner kicks. Although there were no bookings issued, the game was physical, as a total of 35 fouls were whistled.
Both teams will meet again on October 24 at CSI in a game that could have significant playoff implications. In the meantime, CSI will get ready for another big game this week as they take on the CCNY Beavers in more CUNYAC play at Randall’s Island at 3pm.