HOOKSETT, N.H. – Taking action on the road for the first time this season, the Queens College men's soccer team matched up against the Southern New Hampshire University Saturday afternoon at Penmen Stadium in non-conference action.
Despite holding 56% of the possession in the match, the Knights' offense was shut down for the second time this season as they fell 3-0 to the Penmen.
It was a slow start to the match as the first 20 minutes saw only three shots with both goalies called in to defend their post just once. Senior goalie
Dario Giovanni Cruz (Guadalajara, México) saved a shot headed to the bottom center of the net in the 10
th minute before sophomore
Adolfo Martinez Paquet (Sevilla, Spain) responded with a shot on goal off a free kick in the 12
th minute of play but his shot headed to the top right of the goal was denied by the Penmen goalie.
Cruz would be called on once again as he denied another shot in the 22
nd minute to keep the game scoreless. But SNHU would strike first off a set piece as the Knights left a Penmen unmarked in the 26
th minute for a 1-0 lead.
With the Penmen starting to maintain the majority of the possession, a Knights foul would give the home side a set piece from 19 yards out. SNHU would execute a perfect free kick to the top left corner as they doubled their advantage to 2-0 in the 35
th minute.
It was a one-man show of the show for the Knights as Paquet looked to get a goal back for the Knights but once again his shot would be denied by an alert Penmen goalie off a corner kick in the 37
th minute.
The Penmen went on the counterattack and would find their third goal of the match in the 39
th minute as they took a 3-0 commanding lead.
The Knights led by Paquet had three shots on goal but the visitors were unlucky to find the back of the net each time as they went into half-time trailing 3-0.
It was all Queens in the second half as they outshot SNHU 8-5 in the second half but the Knights were unable to solve the Penmen defense as they fell 3-0 Saturday afternoon to move to 2-2 on the season.
Match Highlights
- Paquet led the charge with a match-high nine shots and five shots on goal.
- While the trio of junior Leo Pinto (Forest Hills, N.Y.), freshman David Opera (Oslo, Norway), and graduate-student Luca Schad (Munich, Germany) combined for three shots on goal.
- In goal, Cruz made three saves on the afternoon.
- Queens outshot the Penmen 14-13 (8-6 shots on goal).
- The Knights held a 7-6 margin on corner kicks.
UP NEXT: Head coach
Frank Vertullo and his Knights return to Flushing for a Wednesday (Sept. 7) evening midweek non-conference matchup against the Rams of Jefferson University. Kickoff is set for 7:00 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).
