Flushing, N.Y. - On paper, the match between St. Thomas Aquinas and Queens College appeared to be a mismatch in favor of the Knights, as they took nine corers, to a pair for the Spartans, out shot them 15-4 and put six shots on goal versus three for STAC.  However, the Spartans outscored QC in a 2-1 loss on Saturday in Flushing.  Nicholas Matusewicz and Pol Narbona connected on the QC marker.

The aggressive play nearly rewarded Queens in the third minute.  Nikolas Maher took a throw in for Queens, got the ball to Aitor Gurruchaga on the near side of the net, and the junior from Pamplona, Spain, flicked the ball across the box to Nicholas Matusewicz who put a header on net that forced the Spartans keeper to make a save.  Pol Narbona took a shot in the 20th minute that was on target, but the St. Thomas Aquinas keeper made another save to keep the game scoreless.

STAC would take a 1-0 lead in the 31st minute when Laurie Child found Michael Corbi for a goal.  Trailing 1-0, QC fought back.  Later in the half, Matusewicz returned the favor to Gurruchaga as the sophomore found his teammate in the near side of the box.  From there, Gurruchaga headed the ball past the diving keeper for the game-tying marker, but it was waved off due to an offsides call.

In the 34th minute, QC would tie the game.  Matusewicz continued his aggressive play with a free kick into the box that found the head of Narbona.  The Barcelona, Spain, product headed the ball into the net for his team-leading fourth goal of the season.  The game was even at 1-1.  In the closing seconds of the half, Narbona nearly scored again as a flick of his head put the ball on goal, forcing the keeper into another save.

The second half saw Narbona nearly put the Knights ahead again, in the 53rd minute.  He got free in the box and put a low header towards the goal, forcing STAC goalie, Nicholas Palumbo to make a save.  St. Thomas Aquinas took a 2-1 lead in the 77th minute as they scored off a free kick.

Queens seemingly had the equalizer once again as second-half substitution, Paul Sandoval, scored a goal in the 82nd minute, but it was disallowed due to offsides.  Queens didn't score the rest of the way and the Spartans had a 2-1 win.

The Queens College men's soccer team returns to action on Tuesday, October 14, when they face Bloomsburg in Pennsylvania.  The opening kickoff is slated for 4:00 PM.