Soccer
Although the college did not join an intercollegiate conference until 2004, a CIA soccer team did compete against other area colleges as far back as the mid-1970s. Soccer was one of the flagship programs when the CIA joined the HVMAC, with Serge Nalywayko serving as the coach in 2004 and 2005 before Mike Murphy took over in '06.
Since 2006, the soccer team has either shared or won outright the regular season or post-season championship tournament titles. In 2006, the team finished in second place during the season but came on strong and won the championship tournament over Mount St. Vincent.
In 2007, the team—led by captains Mesrob Yurgatian and Ryan Clark—captured both the regular season and championship tournament titles, beating Mount Saint Vincent College 3-0 in the final at the college's Hyde Park campus. The CIA Steels finished the season with an impressive 7-0-1 record.
In 2008, under co-captains Austin Asadorian and Seth Parsons, the winning ways continued as the team battled their way back to the championship game, finishing the regular season in first place with a 3-1 conference record and an overall record of 6-4-1. In the final, again hosted at the CIA, the Steels fell in a hard-fought game to Albany College of Pharmacy, 1-0.
Coach Murphy had nothing but praise as the 2009 season approached. "The quality student-athletes we have on this team are outstanding, maybe the best I've ever had," he said. "They succeed academically and my hope is that they will come together as a team to succeed on the field as well. I have every expectation that will be the case."
And it was the case. The CIA Steels finished the season with an 8-2-1 record and won the regular season conference championship for the third year in a row. The team then made it to the conference semifinals, where the Steels and Berkeley College played through two overtimes before the CIA was eliminated 2-1 in a shootout. It was a very exciting game that was decided on penalty kicks, where Berkeley tallied 3 goals to the Steels 2.
2010 saw the departure of graduates and team leaders Austin Asadorian, Seth Parsons and Kellen Hamarah. The team, however, saw the return of junior defenseman Derek Surges as well as top offensive players Corey Ferguson and Pierre Mieweson. Though the team started off slowly, losing its first three games, momentum was gained as the team won 6 of its last 7 regular season games, earning the fourth seed for the conference post-season tournament. The Steels bowed out in the semi-finals for the second year in a row, losing to top seed Albany College of Pharmacy 4-0.
Our 2011 season was very successful. The team finished the regular season in third place in the conference with an overall record of 8-3. In post-season play, the third-seeded Steels upset second-ranked Berkeley College to win 2-0 in the semifinals.
With the conference finals taking place at the CIA's home field, the team had a crowd of more than 400 students, faculty, and staff cheering them on to continue their upset streak against the undefeated top seed Albany College of Pharmacy (ACP). At the end of both regulation and overtime, the teams were locked at 1-1. The championship entered a penalty kick period, during which ACP went on to win on the seventh kick. "I could not have been more proud of the effort my team put out on the field today," stated CIA Coach Murphy. "It was the best and most exciting soccer contest in the program's history!"
The team looks forward to making its way back to the championship in 2012, with many key players expected to return.
More information about the CIA Steels Soccer team:
