Box Score Queens, N.Y. - Anyone who came to the
Knights' soccer field on Thursday afternoon noticed right
away that something unusual was going to happen as both the Queens
College women's soccer team and the Felician College team had
their assistant coaches stepping in as head coaches for the
match. Also, the Knights played the game without leading
scorer, Lorena Russi, who was sidelined with an injury. The
team needed someone to step up and score a goal. Well, the
improbable happened, as the Knights pulled off a 1-0, overtime win
when Monica Lupo connected with Kristina Gabrielsen for the
game's lone marker.
The first half of play saw the Knights control the action on the
offensive end. They managed just three shots in the first 45
minutes, but held the Golden Falcons without a shot at the
break. QC controlled the midfield early on as Bernadette
Wyndham, Rebecca LaPorte and Bridget Gleason halted the Felician
attack and played the ball forward into the offensive zone.
The combination of Lisa Cassata, Gena Koutsounadis and Alexandra
Troiano on defense, made Mersina Onesto's job effortless in
goal.
The second half began with the Knights pushing the action on the
offensive end. Barely eight minutes into action, Queens
dumped the ball into the Felician box and Erika Riera put a head on
it and nearly found the back of the net as the ball grazed the
crossbar and went out of bounds.
The Knights had another scoring chance in the 71st
minute as Nicolette Scrozzo took the ball down the left side and
blasted a shot on goal that forced Felician keeper, Julia Sheridan,
to make a save on to keep the game scoreless.
Felician responded quickly however, and in the next 20 seconds,
they had their best scoring chance of the game as Macki Groves put
a shot on goal that forced Onesto to go to her left to stop.
The score was nil-nil at the end of regulation and overtime was
needed to determine a winner.
Two minutes into the extra session, Scrozzo nearly won the game
for the Knights as she took a Rebecca Laporte pass and forced
Sheridan to make another of her six saves. Queens'
persistence was rewarded in the 97th minute when Monica
Lupo took possession of the ball in the ride side of the goalie
box. She flicked the ball across the penalty area to Gabrielsen,
who was heading to the goal. Gabrielsen them shot the ball
back inside the far post for the goal. Queens won, 1-0 and
improved to 5-3 on the season.
The Knights outshot Felician, 14-1 and took four corner kicks
without surrendering any to the Golden Falcons. The back line
and Onesto combined for the fourth shutout of the season for the
team.
The Queens College women's soccer team returns to action
on Saturday, September 28, when they host Molloy
College. The kickoff is scheduled for 11:30 AM.