Box Score A day that started with promise turned to despair for the College of Staten Island women's soccer team, as the Dolphins fell to No. 2 seeded Brooklyn College, 3-1, at the Brooklyn College Field this afternoon as part of the CUNYAC Postseason Championship Final.  For the Dolphins (16-2-2), it was their second consecutive loss in the big game and the first loss in program history to upstart Brooklyn College (15-3), which won its first CUNYAC Championship in program history.

CSI entered as the tourney's top seed, having beaten the Bulldogs on two separate occasions this season (3-1 @ CSI, and 3-2 in overtime @ Brooklyn).  Still, if the opening minutes were any indication, it was going to be a wide open final on the brisk afternoon, as both teams volleyed back and forth, jockeying for quality field position and quality chances on goal.

The early play seemed dictated by the home Bulldogs.  The underdogs were able to use their speedy counterattack to keep CSI grounded on the back line, and when play shifted to the middle of the field, BC saw the better of the 50/50 opportunities to make plays.  On their heels for most of the game, the Dolphins never seemed comfortable.

"We played hard," said Head Coach John Guagliardo, "We just had a hard time getting to open areas and making plays in space.  They beat us to the ball on several occasions and turned defense into offense very quickly."

That turn-around led to Brooklyn first goal with only 12:30 gone by in the stanza.  After a feverish rush up the field, CSI had a chance to clear the ball off of their back line, but a would-be clear by Deanna Kvetkoff was deflected up high in the air by a charging Bergelie Louis of BC.  CSI keeper Victoria Donegan raced to the top of the goal box to meet the ball, but by then Louis had settled the ball down and put a lined shot past Donegan for the game's first goal.

Playing from behind in both games vs. Brooklyn this season, CSI did find a way to win both games, and the Dolphins rallied back in this one as well.  A little over six minutes after the Louis goal, CSI had their turn.  Using their corner kick as a weapon, Gelardi sent a cross via the corner that BC keeper Kimberly Chacko had problems tracking down, and CSI's Samantha Wysokowski headed the ball past Chacko but bouncing off of the crossbar.  Luckily for the Dolphins, waiting on the doorstep was senior Demi-Jean Martorano, who blasted home the shot to knot the score at 1-1 at 18:42.

From there, both teams clamped down defensively, especially the Bulldogs.  CSI had their best attempts at goal via a few more corner kicks, but Gelardi sent a pair past the goal line resulting in no chance at the goal.  On the opposite 50 yards, freshman striker Jordan Kerwin had a couple of open windows o shoot, but CSI's Donegan made a pair of late saves, part of six in the stanza to keep the score tied at intermission.

As even as the first half may have appeared, it was a different story in the second half.  The Bulldogs practically took over possession and play, and kept the Dolphins at bay defensively thanks to their counter-attacking runs up the field.  Offensively, the Dolphins were both stymied and frustrated, never mustering up a shot on goal until very late in the frame.

Meanwhile, it didn't take long for the Bulldogs to register in the second half.  Kerwin did the honors just 5:49 into the frame.  The frosh streaked in again from the left side on a feed by Sayla Flores, but this time she unleashed a rocket that draped inside the short side of the net passed a sprawling Donegan for the 2-1 lead.  Forced to press, CSI could hold the ball enough to find an answer, and after a series of threats, the Bulldogs essentially put the game away at 70:45.  Flores again was the catalyst, sending a through-ball in the middle that Shani Abrahams was able to send in the goal on a low liner to Donegan's left, making the score 3-1 with under 20 minutes to play.

By the time the game was over the statistics told a telling story.  The Dolphins were held to just two shots on goal, and produced 15 shots total after averaging over 25 per game during the season. For the Dolphins it also marked the third time in the last four games that they had allowed more than one goal in a game, after going the first 16 games this season without doing so.  Donegan made 9 saves in defeat, while Chacko made a single high-percentage save in victory.

A solemn CSI collected its runner-up trophy at the end, but not without some evident frustration and disappointment.

"We just didn't get it done," said Guagliardo.  "We got out-played and Brooklyn deserves a lot of credit."

At 16-2-2, the loss in the CUNYAC final shouldn't mark the end of the year for CSI.  The team will await word on possible further postseason play (most likely via the ECAC Metro NY/NJ Tournament) when selections are made on Monday.  By virtue of the win, the Bulldogs have advanced to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament which begins next weekend.