FLUSHING, N.Y. – For the first time in program history, the Queens College men's soccer team is heading to the big dance as they get set to compete in the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament.
All season long, head coach
Frank Vertullo and the Knights have rewritten the program record book. The Knights finished the regular season with a program-best 13-5 overall record and earned their first national recognition as they found themselves ranked #9 in the first Super Region 1 ranking released on Oct. 26.
A strong October resume took the Knights to the #6 spot putting them in strong contention of earning an At-Large bid.
Come Selection Monday Nov. 7 evening, the Knights heard their name called as they earned the program's first At-Large bid as the #7 seed in the Super Region 1 Bracket.
Earning the #7 seed, the Knights will begin their quest for the NCAA Men's Soccer National Championship crown as they match up against local NE10 conference member Adelphi University Panthers who earned the #10 seed in the first round.
The Panthers are making their 10
th appearance all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
Separated by a mere 12.5 miles from each other, both teams will travel 561 miles to Charleston, West Virginia as they match up against each other in the first round hosted by the #2 seed University of Charleston Golden Eagles at the Welch Athletic Complex.
Match Time: 3:00 p.m.
Live Stats: https://ucgoldeneagles.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary
Live Stream: https://www.mountaineast.tv/charleston/
Adelphi University Series History
Win–Loss Record: Adelphi leads the series 1-0
First Meeting: October 6, 2015
Last Meeting: October 6, 2015
Current Streak: L1
The Knights are meeting the Panthers for the first time since the 2015 season. Thursday's meeting will be the second match-up in program history in the Division II era. Queens fell to the score of 3-0 in Garden City in 2015.
Tickets
- Adults: $5
- Students (with ID) | Senior citizens | Children 2 to 12: $3
Queens College
- Queens take a 13-6 overall record (program-best) into Thursday's match.
- On the season, the Knights have outscored their opponents 34-21 averaging 1.79 goals per game.
- Queens has tallied 126 shots on goals holding .429 shots on goal percentage.
- Sophomore Adolfo Martinez Paquet (Sevilla, Spain) leads the offense from the front with a team-high 24 points, scoring 11 goals, two assists, and seven game-winning goals.
- Paquet's seven game-winners has the Sevilla native tied for first in the nation with sophomore Sulaiman Bah of Cal State Dominguez Hills.
- Senior Leo Pinto (Forest Hill, N.Y.) has tallied a career-high 14 points with five goals and leads the Knights with a team-high four assists on the season.
- While rookie David Oprea (Oslo, Norway) leads the freshmen with four goals, and one assist with nine points, and has scored two game-winners on the season.
- In goal senior Dario Giovanni Cruz (Guadalajara, México) has made 67 saves for a 13-6 overall record with a total of nine shutouts including five shutouts coming in conference play.
- The Knights earned four East Coast Conference All-Conference honors
- First-Team All-Conference - Adolfo Martinez Paquet | Sevilla, Spain | Sophomore | Midfield
- First-Team All-Conference - Thomas Esperoe | Bomlo, Norway | Senior | Defender
- Second-Team All-Conference – Leo Pinto | Forest Hills, N.Y. | Junior | Forward
- Second-Team All-Conference – Dario Giovanni Cruz | Guadalajara, México | Senior | Goalkeeper
- 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.
Scouting Adelphi University
- The Panthers enter Thursday's match with an 8-4-6 overall record
- They have scored 30 goals averaging 1.67 goals per game with a .440 shots-on-goal percentage.
- Rodrigo Descalzo Rocca leads the Panthers having tallied 20 points for nine goals and two assists with three game-winners but played on Oct. 11.
- Victor Castel has tallied eight goals and four assists for 20 points.
- Daniel De La Heras has started 16 of 18 games for the Panthers this season averaging 1.34 goals against average with 64 saves (.744 %) with six shutouts.
- Adelphi is led by four NE10 All-Conference honorees
- Rodrigo Descalzo Rocca – First Team
- Matteo Lazzarini – Second Team
- Victor Castel – Second Team
- Andrew Watson – NE10 All-Rookie Team Honors
The winner of the #7 Queens vs. #10 Adelphi will advance to the second round as they match up against the Host Golden Eagles Saturday (Nov. 12) afternoon. Kick-off is set for 3:00 p.m.
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).
