Box Score Flushing, N.Y. - For Catholics around the world, November 2 is the Feast of All Souls Day, a day of commemorating the faithfully departed. In a similar way, whether it was divine intervention or something austere, namely persistence and good luck, the Queens College women's soccer team upset LIU Post, 1-0, to claim a spot in the upcoming East Coast Conference championship, all the while commemorating the service put in by the six seniors honored prior to the game. The seniors that played their final home game on Saturday were Lisa Cassata, Kristina Ikonomou, Rebecca Laporte, Lorena Russi, Alexandra Troiano and Bernadette Wyndham.
Needing a victory to ensure the playoff spot, Queens came out pushing the offense forward. In the fourth minute, Russi flicked a shot on net that forced the keeper to make a save. The early pressure by the Knights was similar to what propelled them to victory over #16 Bridgeport earlier in the week, and the pressure would eventually payoff for them.
Later in the half, Ikonmou took a corner kick and put the ball into the box where Bridget Gleason got a head on it and forced the goalie to make another save. Ikonomou was involved in another scoring opportunity in the 38th minute as well. After getting the Pioneers to commit a foul in the box, Ikonomou had the chance to put the Knights ahead on a penalty kick. But her line drive was parried when the LIU Post keeper dove to her left to deflect the ball away. The game was scoreless at the half.
The second half brought more pressure from the Knights and they would be rewarded in the 74th minute. With the ball loose in the LIU Post end of the feel, Lisa Cassata flicked it into the middle of the 18-yeard box where Nicolette Scrozzo deflected past the keeper for the game's lone goal. The Knights held on for the 1-0 win. The victory marks the first time in Carl Christian's tenure as head coach, that Queens has ever defeated LIU Post.
QC closed out the season with wins over Bridgeport and LIU Post to earn a spot in the upcoming ECC Championship. Impressively, they beat two teams that combined for nearly 30 wins, just four conference losses and one of whom was ranked nationally.
The Knights return to action on Thursday, November 7, when they face a yet to be detrmined opponent in the ECC semifinal. The winner meets the victor in the other semifinal for the championship on Saturday, the ninth.
