STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (Nov. 4, 2017) - Sophomore defender Lizbeth Aparacio buried a pair of second-half tallies Saturday to lead the top-seeded College of Staten Island to its third-straight league title, a 2-0 victory against third-seeded Lehman College in the 2017 CUNYAC/USS Women's Soccer Championship at the CSI Soccer Complex.

With the win, the Dolphins improved to 13-5-1 overall and received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Additionally, it is the eighth CUNYAC women's soccer title for Staten Island in school history.

The duo of Aparacio and senior defender/forward Adrianna Parello teamed up for both goals in a 17-minute stretch.

In the 59th minute, Aparicio cleaned up a free kick from Parello inside the 18-yard box to put the Dolphins up 1-0. It was the 15th time this season that CSI scored first in the match.

Then, in the 76th minute, Aparicio, who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, struck again. This time, Aparicio tapped in a loose ball in front, off a long free kick from Parello that evaded the Lehman defense.

"She (Lizbeth) is our unknown secret weapon that just became known," Head Coach Giuseppe Pennetti commented. "Liz plays with the biggest heart, has the most fun and is deadly on set pieces. She buried two goals today and we thank her."

"I just try to get into space, crash the box and if I score, I score," said Aparacio about her ability to score on set plays. "It is a great feeling to win today."

Prior to Aparicio's second goal, the Lightning (10-8-1) nearly tied the game, as freshman keeper Kaila DiBenedetto got enough of a hand on a Melanie Siranaula header to keep it out of the net.

The two teams played to a scoreless first half, but the Dolphins had a couple of golden opportunities late in the period to open the scoring.

Parello and sophomore midfielder Stephanie LaPointe each hit the post in the final six minutes, while freshman forward Daniela Zirpolo put a shot on target that was stopped by Lehman netminder Rebecca Gritz.

Staten Island held a commanding 18-2 shot advantage in the match, including a 12-1 edge in the second half. The Dolphins also earned eight corner kicks to the Lightning's two.

"It feels great (to get the three-peat)," said Pennetti. "I always thank the ladies. They put in all the work and they deserve all the credit. It feels great to win every year, but this is more special because it was at CSI."

Pennetti then added: "The ladies really wanted it. They wanted to be a three-time champion. It is great to have a bunch of ladies who want to win a championship more than the coaches. No matter whether we won or lost, we wanted to get to the finals and win it."
 
Staten Island will now await word on their seeding in the NCAA Division III Championship. The selection show will air Monday (Nov. 6) on NCAA.com.