FLUSHING, N.Y. – The 2022 Queens College men's soccer team concluded the regular season on a high note as they defeated the visiting College of Staten Island Dolphins 4-0 Saturday evening in East Coast Conference play at QC Soccer Field.
Sophomore
Adolfo Martinez Paquet (Sevilla, Spain) tallied a first-half brace before junior
Leo Pinto (Forest Hill, N.Y.) and sophomore
Juan Monge Allue (Zaragoza, Spain) notched goals in the second half as the Knights earned their ninth shutout victory of the season.
With the win, fifth-year head coach
Frank Vertullo and his Knights conclude the 2022 regular season with an overall 13-5 program-record and 6-2 in ECC play. The six wins in conference play are the most since the 2018 season but finish the season in second place (the
highest finish in program history).
Saturday's win earned Queens the #2 seed for the East Coast Conference men's soccer tournament as the Knights will host one of the semi-final matches slated for Thursday (Nov. 3).
The Knights began the first half as the aggressor as they tallied three quick shots and were quickly awarded in the 11
thminute of play as Paquet earned the Knights a penalty kick.
Paquet would have no trouble putting the PK away as he beat the Dolphins goalie to give Queens an early 1-0 lead.
Queens continued to press as Paquet and freshman
David Oprea (Oslo, Norway) tallied back-to-back shots but would be turned away.
With Pinto continuing to dance around the Dolphin's defense, he would earn Queens their second PK of the evening in the 22
nd minute. Paquet would tally his second goal of the game and first career brace as he beat the visitor's goalie once again putting the Knights up 2-0.
Queens would go into halftime up 2-0 as senior goalie
Dario Giovanni Cruz (Guadalajara, México) turned away three shots on goal in the first half.
After a through ball from sophomore
Jose Mendez (Queens, N.Y.) found Pinto, the Forest Hill native would put the Knights up 3-0 as he beat the goalie through his right side just four minutes into the second half.
Allue would apply the finishing touches in the 86
th minute as the sophomore tallied his first goal of the season as the Knights clinched the #2 seed with a 4-0 victory and their fifth ECC shutout of the season.
Match Highlights
- Paquet notched his first career brace as he tallied his team-leading 10th and 11th goal of the year for a season-high 24 points.
- The sophomore recorded his seventh game-winner of the year.
- Pinto tallied his fifth goal, while Allue notched his first goal of the season.
- Mendez recorded his first assist of the season.
- In goal Cruz and sophomore Kyriakos Kaporalis (Athens, Greece) combined for their third shutout of the season while recording six saves on the evening.
- Queens tallied a season-high 26 shots and held 9-6 shots on goal edge.
UP NEXT: Head coach
Frank Vertullo and the Knights now set their sights on the ECC Men's Soccer Tournament set to begin Thursday (Nov. 3) evening. More details to follow soon.
For the latest news on Queens College Athletics, follow the Knights at queensknights.com or via social media on Facebook (Queens College Athletics), Twitter (@QCKnights), and Instagram (qcknightsny), men's soccer (qcmsoccer).
