ORANGEBURG, N.Y.  Playing their first game in over 663 days on Thursday afternoon, the Queens College men's soccer team saw 13 players make their debut in Knights color with only returners in sophomore Brian Garay (Valley Stream, N.Y.)  and Justin Cabezas (Brentwood, N.Y.) appearing from the 2019 team. 
 
Going up against Dominican College Chargers (0-1) for the third straight season, the Knights (1-0) started slow in the first half as they were limited to five shots. 
 
Queens would get their first shot off in the 14th minute of the game as freshman Daniel Camara's (Madrid, Spain) header went high before freshman Orick Briscoe (West Babylon, N.Y.)  shot landed wide. The chargers were down to 10 players after the 34th minute but the Knights were unable to capitalize as the first half came to a close. 
 
A slow first half did not demoralize the Knights as sophomore Nicholas Tagios (East Williston, N.Y.) wasted no time finding junior Amadou Seck (Dakar, Senegal) 37 seconds into the second half to give the Knights a 1-0 lead. 
 
The Knights continued to apply pressure on the 10-men Chargers as they outshot the home side 12-5 in the second half. Freshman Leonel Zelaya (Amityville, N.Y.) was a threat in the first 20 minutes of the second half delivering a team-high five-shot. 
 
In the 73rd minute, the Knights would put the game out of reach as Tagios finished off an excellent debut with his first goal of the season as he finished a Zelaya's cross with a header over the Chargers goalie to put the Knights up 2-0. 
 
The Knights held the advantage in shots (17-9), and shots on goal (5-1). 
 
Junior goalie Dario Cruz (Guadalajara, México) (1-0) and his defense earned the team's first shutout of the season with Cruz facing only one shot on goal in the first half. 
 
Head Coach Frank Vertullo Post Game Comment: I am very pleased with the victory today. Obviously going into the season you do want to get off on the right foot, play well and get a result. It took us a little while to get into our rhythm but once we settled in I thought we played well. 
 
Starting the season with a victory and a clean sheet is a nice springboard heading into our match against Franklin Pierce.
 
UP NEXT: It will be a short rest for Vertullo and the Knights as they return to action on Sept. 4 with a trip to Rindge, New Hampshire as they go up against Franklin Pierce University Ravens. Ravens were ranked fifth in the 2021 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Preseason Poll. 
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