There is one word to sum up the College of Staten Island men's soccer team's hope for the season ahead: Optimism. After back-to-back subpar seasons after an appearance in the 2007 CUNYAC Championship Final, the Dolphins seem to be heading in the right direction under third-year head coach Armen Simoniants. The skipper's team has only posted seven wins over the previous two seasons, and failed to qualify for the annual CUNYAC postseason dance a year ago, but things are expected to change, as the Dolphins usher in a new campaign for 2010. The Dolphins start today vs. NYU-Polytech at Aviator Field in Brooklyn, with the game being broadcast live on CSI SportsNet at
http://www.csidolphins.com/livegames.asx, coverage begins at 3:10pm.
For one, the Dolphins are returning a strong nucleus of players from 2009, players that not only proved they were high on talent, but who, according to Simoniants, are committed towards CSI Soccer, and with off-season improvements made the focus heading in, a tremendous improvement is expected from them.
The anchor in the back will be second year senior Ahmed El-Ghareib. Spending a majority of last season on defense, he will play goalkeeper this season with the Dolphins, and was nothing short of stellar this preseason and scrimmage. El-Ghareib is one of only five upperclassmen on the squad. Graduate student Adam Birnbaum was CSI's Scholar-Athlete of the Year a year ago and should be a stalwart on the wing in the backfield along with second-year senior Dogan Altunsoy, who made 16 appearances a year ago. Junior Kenneth Zaw will also be on the back line, making that unit the most experienced of the team. CSI also returns sophomores Paully Awad and John Tanna along the back line.
Alfred Yeboah, Abraham Vivas, and Orsi Bermudez-Reyes will play the midfield and all are returning sophomores that played in a combined 27 games a year ago. They will be joined by sophomore Lirim Begai, who paced the team with a trio of goals a year ago, sharing him with the team lead. Freshman Dong Luu and Tottenville High School's Beshoy Askharoun will also spend time in the middle which Simoniants hopes can control the ball effectively and feed quality chances inside.
Perhaps no unit is as bolstered, however, as on the front line, where CSI will go with four freshman, after scoring just 13 goals a season ago over 19 games (0.71 per game). Chris Nistico and Anthony Brucato, teammates at Monsignor Farrell High School will have plenty of chances while Susan Wagner tandem Alen Desevic and Ibrahim Mubaric will battle for time and chances.
St. Peter's alums Stephen Caifa and Michael Massa will both support the back line as freshman, being joined by New Dorp product Stephen Mattei. Altogether, the infusion of new talent could easily be Simoniants' best recruiting effort since he came to the squad just weeks before the 2008 season.
The team will start its season against NYU-Polytechnic on the road today at Aviator Field in Brooklyn, New York. NYU-Polytech turned the Dolphins back, 4-1, in their game last year in a game that was tied 0-0 at half. For the Dolphins, the game should serve as an early litmus test to where they stand, since NYU-Polytechnic is also expecting a quality season with a host of returning talent following a 10-10-1 season a year ago.
Following the test today, CSI will participate in Drew University's Fall Festival this weekend, when they play both Saturday and Sunday. CSI's first home game will be played on Saturday, September 11 vs. Berkeley College at the CSI Soccer Complex at 3:30pm. They will tackle their first CUNYAC Conference opponent on Wednesday, September 15, when they host Brooklyn College at 4pm.