SPARKILL, N.Y. – A sluggish first half Wednesday afternoon at Spartan Field would put the Queens College men's soccer team in a 2-0 hole that they would be unable to recover from as the Knights fell 3-1 to St. Thomas Aquinas College in East Coast Conference play.
Queens two-game win streak comes to an end as they fall to 5-3 overall, 1-2 in conference, while STAC improved to 5-2-1 overall, 2-1 in ECC action.
How It Happened
- Queens started the first five minutes as the aggressor as freshman Joaquim Johnson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) header was saved an alert STAC goalie Asier Vegas
- As the Knights failed to clear the ball Anthony Sanchez would open the scoring for the Spartans as he put a shot from Dan Dougill in the 11th minute.
- In the 22nd minute freshman Leonel Zelaya (Amityville, N.Y.) looked to have beat the Spartans defense but was found offside.
- Zelaya continued to be a threat in the first half but was denied the equalizer in the 34th minute as Vegas was up to the task.
- Sanchez would score his second of the goal in the 42nd minute to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.
- In the 56th minute, Queens would bring the deficit down to one (2-1) as sophomore Thomas Esperoe (Bomlo, Norway) put away a cross from freshman Angel Leon Zavala (Wyandanch, N.Y.).
- In the 57th minute, Zelaya would be denied another opportunity to tie the game as the Amityville native free-kick heading into the top left corner was saved by an alert Vegas.
- Sanchez would put the game out of reach in the 68th minute to complete his hattrick as the offense was unable to past get the Spartans' defense.
By the Numbers
- Queens were outshot 15-11 (10-5 shots on goal) margin.
- Junior goalie Dario Cruz (Guadalajara, México) made seven saves on the day.
- Zelaya attempted a team-high two shots on goal
UP NEXT: The Knights open the month of October in the nation's capital with a match-up against the University of the District of Columbia Firebirds Saturday afternoon. Kick-off is slated for 2:00 p.m.
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