FLUSHING, N.Y. – Opening East Coast Conference in Flushing on Saturday afternoon, the Queens College men's soccer team welcomed the Wildcats of Daemen University to QC Soccer Field.
On another physical and hot shooting day, the Knights ran rampage in the second half led by sophomore
Adolfo Martinez Paquet (Sevilla, Spain), freshman
Bryce Cherry (Amityville, N.Y.), and junior
Milton Sionakides (Astoria, N.Y.) goals to help Queens defeat Daemen 3-0 for their third straight shutout of the season.
With the win, the Knights earned their fourth straight victory to improve to 6-2 overall, and 2-0 in ECC play.
It was a physical first half which saw Queens outshoot Daemen 8-1 and a combined 21 fouls with the lone shot on goal would come off the foot of freshman
Oscar Garces (Centereach, N.Y.), however, the Knights would go into halftime with the match scoreless.
The Knights would kick off the second half with the ball and wasted no time in attacking the Daemen's defense.
With Queens pressing in the 18-yard box, junior
Leo Pinto's (Forest Hills, N.Y.) shot attempt would earn the Knights a penalty kick just 54 seconds into the second half as the Wildcats defender stopped the ball with a clear handball.
Paquet stepped up to the mark for his second penalty kick of the season and the Sevilla native continued his rich form of scoring goals as he executed the shot into the bottom right corner to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.
Taking a 1-0 lead in the 46
th minute of play, Queens refused to take their pedal off the gas as they continued their attack.
In the 55
th minute. Pinto's shot would be denied headed towards the bottom right corner before Cherry was denied a goal in the 58
th minute.
The Knights looked to have taken a 2-0 lead in the 70
th minute but sophomore
Juan Monge Allue's (Zaragoza, Spain) shot would deflect off the right post before sophomore
Nicolas Cifuentes Diaz's (East Hampton, N.Y.) rebound shot went out to top right.
After winning the ball on the left wing, Garces found Sionakides in the middle before the junior beat the Wildcats goalie on a 1-on-1 chance with a chip to the bottom right side to give Queens a 2-0 lead in the 71
st minute of play.
Daemen looked to respond right away but senior goalie
Dario Giovanni Cruz (Guadalajara, México) was up to the task in the 72
nd minute as he made his second save of the match to keep the shutout intact.
As Queens continued to overmatch their opponent, Allue shot on goal would be denied as the Wildcats' goalie made a timely save at the top of the net giving Queens a corner in the 78
th minute.
Off the set piece, Cherry would complete the cross from Allue with a flick into the bottom right corner for a 3-0 advantage in the 79
th minute.
Queens would close out the match without any further problems for their fourth straight win and second straight conference win to start the 2022 season.
Match Highlights
- Paquet netted his team-leading fifth goal and fourth game-winner of the season. Cherry notched his third goal of the season, while Sionakides tallied his first goal of the season.
- In goal, Cruz made two saves on the afternoon.
- The Knights held a 21-4 shots margin (8-2 shots on goal for the second straight match).
- Reigning East Coast Conference Defender of the Week Cruz tallied his 14th career victory to take sole possession of second on the All-Time Career Wins list in the shutout victory.
- Queens tallied their fourth straight victory and third straight shutout of the season.
- The Knights improve to 7-2 overall against Daemen and have shutout the Wildcats in their last three win to the combined score of 7-0.
- A combined 37 fouls (QC: 16, DU: 21) saw six yellow and two red cards handed out on the afternoon.
- For the first since the 2013 season, Queens have started conference play with a 2-0 record when the Knights defeated Daemen 5-2 on September 21 and Roberts Wesleyan 3-1 on September 22.
UP NEXT: Head coach
Frank Vertullo and his Knights continue ECC play on Wednesday (Sept. 21) afternoon as they travel to Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. with a matchup against the Mavericks of Mercy College at Mercy Field. Kickoff 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).
