PHILADELPHIA, PA. – Led by sophomore Nicholas Tagios (East Williston, N.Y.) first career hat trick, the Queens College men's soccer team defeated the Tigers of Holy Family University 4-2 at the new Tiger Field on Wednesday evening. 
 
Behind Tagios hat trick and classmate Marco Oliveri (Whitestone, N.Y.) first career goal in Queens uniform, the Knights held off a late rally by the Tigers to extend their winning streak to two games. Following the win, the Knights improved to 3-1 on the season, while the Tigers moved to 0-3-1 on the year. 
 
With the win against the Tigers, fourth-year head coach Frank Vertullo has tied former Knights coach Joe Misso (27-23-3) with 27 career wins.
 
How It Happened

• Despite the first half even in shots (7-7), the Knights led 2-0 at halftime. 
• The Knights quickly went on the offense as freshman Leonel Zelaya (Amityville, N.Y.) would have the first shot of the game on goal, but Tigers goalie Mark Tobin was up to the task. 
• Making his career start, Oliveri shot in the 4^th minute was too high to threaten the Tigers.
• In the 11^th minute of play, Tagios would give the Knights 1-0 lead with his third goal of the season.
• Queens would quickly double their advantage in the 17^th minute as Oliveri drilled a free-kick from 25 yards out for his first goal of the season. 
• Tigers' Gavin Rowan would land the Tigers first shot on goal in the 41^st minute but Knights' junior goalie Dario Cruz (Guadalajara, México) would keep the 2-0 lead with a timely save. 
• The Tigers looked to cut the deficit in half in the 48^th minute as Joel Richmond missed from the penalty spot as Cruz guessed correctly making his second penalty save of the season. 
• Following Cruz's save, the Knights quickly went on the counterattack as Tagios finished a pass from sophomore Tobias Holtz (Sachseln, Switzerland)  for his second goal of the game to put the Knights up 3-0. 
• The Tigers would cut the deficit down to 3-1 as Sean McCormick scored in the 51^st minute. 
• The Knights 3-1 advantage would be cut down to 3-2 as Tigers' Brendan McCarthy capitalized on his rebound shot in the 70^th minute. 
• But the Tigers 2-0 run would be short-lived as Tagios ensured the Knights would be leaving Philadelphia with a win.
• The East Williston native completed his hat trick and with his fifth goal of the season in the 75^th minute as he completed a deflection off a Tigers' defender for the breakaway goal to close the scoring and complete a 4-2 win.  

By the Numbers

• For the first time since the 2011 season, a Queens player tallied a hat trick since Danny Stoker scored four goals against Lincoln University (PA.) back on September 26, 2011. 
• Tagios increased his goals tally to a team-high five goals, completing all three shots attempts on the night.
• With his assist in the second half, Holtz leads the Knights with a team-high three assists on the season. 
• The Tigers outshot the Knights by a 16-11 margin. 

Head Coach Frank Vertullo Post Game Comment: "It was a good win tonight. I thought we played extremely well in 20-minute blocks in both halves. We are still coming together as a team but we will take a win on the road midweek.  We look forward to starting conference play and continuing to get better both individually and collectively"
 
UP NEXT: East Coast Conference play opens on Saturday (Sept. 18) as the Knights travel to Bridgeport, Connecticut with a matchup against the University of Bridgeport Purple Knights. Kick-off is slated for 6:00 p.m.
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