Box Score Flushing, N.Y. - The Queens College men's
soccer team opened Saturday's game eerily similar to Thursday
loss to Bentley. Fortunately for the Knights, they managed to
earn a result in a 1-1, double –overtime tie with West
Chester in Flushing. QC is now 0-1-1 on the year, while the
Golden Rams completed their first game.
For the second straight game, the Knights were content to play
defense early on, not pushing the ball forward until opportunities
presented themselves. In fact, the Golden Rams grabbed the
lead in the ninth minute of the contest. Freshman Miguel Ross
had the ball on the right side and put a cross into the box where
Connor Malary blasted it past Sean Geoghegan to put West Chester
ahead, 1-0.
In the 16th minute, the score was nearly doubled when
Cameron Scott flicked a ball on net that hit the crossbar and
careened to safety. The score would remain at 1-0 until
Queens got the equalizer late in the first half.
Freshman Lawrence Nikaj, who was playing in his first-ever
collegiate game, took the ball down the right side and lifted a
cross to the top of the 18-yard box where Jose Lopez blasted it
past the keeper for the Knights' goal. The game was
level at 1-1 at the half.
Also like Thursday's matchup, QC pushed the play forward
in the second half, resulting in several prime scoring
chances. The first opportunity came in the 50th
minute when Metri Abdul-Karim placed a long ball down the left side
of the pitch trying to connect with a sprinting Lopez. The
ball was a little long and scooped up by Golden Rams' goalie,
Phil Horan.
The Knights had a chance to win the game in the 86th
minute, and it came from team captian, Abdul-Karim. From the
left side of the pitch, the midfielder took a Scott Lamont cross
into the center of the 18-yard box and kicked a knuckler along the
ground that Horan adeptly saved to turn aside the goal. The
game ended regulation at 1-1.
The first overtime provided little scoring chances for either
side until the Golden Rams grabbed possession with just over a
minute remaining. Heading just inside the goalie box, Tommy
Ryan blasted a shot to the lower-right corner of the net, but
Queens goalie, Geoghegan, dove to his right and made a game-saving
catch; helping to force a second overtime.
In the second extra frame, head coach Carl Christian brought in
a few fresh players to bring energy to the pitch. The players
who came on included James Dukas, Navdeep Baines and Lopez.
The substitutions paid dividends immediately as Dukas went on a run
down the left side and centered the ball to Tyler Iocco who blasted
a shot that Horan had to make a save against. The final
chance for the Knights came when Aitor Gurrutxaga got the ball in
the box and blasted a shot that was blocked by the defense.
The game ended in a 1-1 draw.
The Knights earned the point with the tie and they will look for
their first win of 2013 when they face New Haven on Tuesday,
September 10, at 4:00 PM.