WEST BABYLON, N.Y. – On Friday (Nov. 4) morning, the East Coast Conference office announced the 2022 men's soccer All-Conference teams.
 
For the fifteen straight season, the Queens College men's soccer team has seen a Knight earn a spot on the All-Conference team. Under the guidance of fifth-year head coach Frank Vertullo, the Knights have earned two or more student-athletes on four occasions.
 
Queens earned two First-Team honors as defender Thomas Esperoe (Bomlo, Norway) and sophomore Adolfo Martinez Paquet (Sevilla, Spain) were awarded All-Conference honors. 
 
While junior Leo Pinto (Forest Hill, N.Y.) and senior goalie Dario Giovanni Cruz (Guadalajara, México) earned Second-Team All-Conference honors. 
 
Coach of the Year – Frank Vertullo

Head Coach Frank Vertullo was awarded ECC Men's Soccer Coach of the Year by his colleagues becoming the first coach in program history to earn the league's top honors. 
 
This fall Vertullo guided the Knights to their best regular season finish in program history as Queens rewrote history. Under his guidance, the Knights finished the regular season with a program-best 13-5 overall record and a 6-2 ECC record.
 
After being voted sixth in the ECC Preseason Coaches poll, the 6-2 conference record helped the Knights earn their highest finish in the conference standings as they finished as the #2 seed. 
 
The #2 seed helped the Knights return to postseason play for the first time since the 2018 season. 
 
In the 2-0 victory over Holy Family on Oct. 11, the Knights earned their 10^th victory of the season as they registered their second double-digit wins total under Vertullo and fourth overall in program history.
 
The rewriting would continue onto Oct. 15 as Pinto's brace helped Queens tie the program record in a single season as they recorded their 11^th win of the season as the Knights defeated Bloomfield 3-0. 
 
On Oct. 22^nd, Queens fought back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat St. Thomas Aquinas College 2-1 as Paquet tallied his sixth game-winner of the season to break the single-season wins record as they earned their 12^th victory of the season. 
 
Heading their last game of the regular season, Vertullo had guided the Knights to their first-ever NCAA Men's Soccer Regional ranking as Queens found themselves ranked #9 in Super-Region 1 on Oct. 26. 
 
The regular season would include on Oct. 29 as Queens finished the season with a program-best 13 wins with a convincing 4-0 victory over Staten Island in ECC Play. The victory over Staten Island in ECC play would help the Knights earn their highest finish in program history.
 
With a strong end to October, Vertullo and the Knights were awarded their highest ranking in program history as they found themselves ranked #6 in the region. 
 
First-Team All-Conference - Adolfo Martinez Paquet | Sevilla, Spain | Sophomore | Midfield
 
Paquet put forth one of the best seasons in program history as the sophomore started all 18 games during the regular season recording 11 goals, and two assists for a team-high 24 points with seven game-winning goals.
 
The 11 goals are the most in a single season since Danny Stoker recorded 11 in 2012 giving Paquet a tie for second place. The 24 points are the third highest in a single season, while the seven game-winner gives Paquet the sole possession and the single-season program record for most game-winners. 
 
On the season, Paquet saw his name called six times on the men's soccer weekly award earning Offensive Player of the Week on two occasions (Sept. 19 & Oct. 17), while earning a Honor Roll spot four times. 
 
First-Team All-Conference - Thomas Esperoe | Bomlo, Norway | Senior | Defender
 
A key figure in the Knights' backline and senior captain, Esperoe becomes the third defender under Vertullo to earn All-Conference honors following the footsteps of current assistant coach David Ramirez '18 and former assistant coach Paul Hayes '19. 
 
During the regular season, the Norway native started 11 games while missing six games due to an injury playing a total of 1,070 minutes. The senior helped the Knights go 9-2 including posting four shutouts. 
 
Esperoe recorded his first career game-winner on Sept. 7 as the Knights defeated Jefferson 4-1 in non-conference action. 
 
Second-Team All-Conference – Leo Pinto (Forest Hills, N.Y.) | Junior | Forward
 
Pinto earned his first All-Conference honors as the Forest Hill native started 17 games during the regular season. The Forest Hills native was a consistent threat on the wing as he dazed his defenders posting five goals, a team-high four assists for 14 points with one game-winner during the regular season. 
 
In the 3-0 victory over Bloomfield on Oct. 15, Pinto recorded his first career brace as he tallied two goals in under 10 minutes in the first half. 
 
Out of Pinto's four assists, three assists would prove to be the difference makers as the Knights earned three shut outs victories to the score of 3-0 with wins over D'Youville (Sept. 10), Roberts Wesleyan (Sept. 24) and Georgian Court (Sept. 27). 
 
Second-Team All-Conference – Dario Giovanni Cruz | Guadalajara, México | Senior | Goalkeeper
 
Cruz put forth one of the best seasons as a goalkeeper since Michael Bolvin earned ECC Goalkeeper of the Year in 2018. Bolvin posted a 10-win season helping the Knights return to postseason play as they earned the third seed in Vertullo's second season in charge of the Knights. 
 
This season Cruz took his play to another level and was instrumental in helping the Knights post a program-record 13 wins. Starting all 18 games, the senior made 67 saves averaging 1.15 goals against average and combining for a total of nine shutouts.
 
Throughout the season, Cruz continued to rewrite the program single season and individual career record book by a goalkeeper earning the following:

• Single-Season Wins (13)
• Total Career Wins (21)
• Tying Single-Season Shutouts (6)
• Total Career Shutouts (10)
• Total Career Saves (140)

During the season, Cruz saw his name called four times on the men's soccer weekly award sheet earning two Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 12 and Sept. 19. 
 
Selection Show to Determine 2022 Fate: 
On Monday (Nov. 7) evening, Vertullo and the Knights will tune into the NCAA Men's Soccer selection show to see if their historic season continues as the Knights look to make the program's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament. 
 
Currently, Queens finds themselves ranked #6 in the NCAA Super-Region 1. 
 
More details to follow soon. 
 

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