FLUSHING, N.Y. – With East Coast Conference play opening on Saturday (Sept. 10), the Queens College men's soccer team used their non-conference match against the visiting Jefferson University Rams at QC Soccer Field Wednesday evening to tighten up their game.
Led by sophomore
Adolfo Martinez Paquet (Sevilla, Spain), senior
Thomas Esperoe (Bomlo, Norway), junior
Leo Pinto (Forest Hills, N.Y.), and freshman
David Oprea (Oslo, Norway), the Knights picked up their third victory of the season to move to 3-2 on the season as they defeated Jefferson 4-1. Wednesday's win over the Rams was the Knghts straight win at home.
Oprea would get the offense starting early as the freshman blasted a shot just 45 seconds into play. Following a corner, sophomore
Jose Mendez (Queens, N.Y.) was blocked by an alert Rams goalie. As the Knights pressed early, they held a 10-3 shots advantage in search of an early goal.
Following a Rams foul on the top of the 18-yard box line, Paquet executed a perfect kick into the top left corner over four Jefferson players for the 1-0 lead in the 35
th minute.
Queens would quickly double their advantage in the 40
th minute as a free kick deflected off a Rams defender into the right post for Esperoe to put the rebound ball for a 2-0 lead into halftime.
The Knights outshot the visitors 12-4 in the first half.
Maintaining their first-half momentum, Queens continued to attack and were awarded their third goal of the contest on a counterattack as sophomore
Juan Monge Allue (Zaragoza, Spain) won the ball in the air with a header to Oprea who would flick the ball to Pinto. Pinto would chip the ball past the Rams goalie into the left bottom corner for a 3-0 lead in the 53
rd minute.
In the 57
th minute, Rams would avoid a shutout to beat a diving senior goalie
Dario Giovanni Cruz(Guadalajara, México) to his right as Queens' lead was cut down to 3-1.
Queens would effectively put away the game in the 65
th minute on a 3-1 chance as Pinto found Oprea for the rookie to complete his shot into the middle of the net to complete the 4-1 victory.
Match Highlights
- Paquet tallied his team-leading third goal of the season. While Esperoe notched the second goal of his career and first of the season.
- Pinto scored his second goal of the year, while Oprea scored his first collegiate goal in Knights White & Navy.
- Pinto and Oprea notched a team-high three points on the night with an assist, while Allue notched his first assist of the season.
- In goal, Cruz and sophomore Kyriakos Kaporalis (Athens, Greece) combined to make six saves on the evening.
- Cruz picked up the 11th win of his Knights career to move to third on the All-Time Career Wins list moving past Julio G. Rodriguez's 10 wins compiled between the 2014-2016 seasons.
- The Knights held a 21-10 shots margin (17-7 shots on goal) on the evening.
- The 17 shots on goal are the third most in program history since the Knights tallied 16 against Chestnut Hill on September 12, 2007.
- Both teams combined for 34 fouls (Queens: 14, Jefferson 20).
- With the 4-1 victory, Queens improved to 2-3-1 overall against Jefferson and ended a two-game losing streak over the Rams in Flushing.
UP NEXT: Head coach
Frank Vertullo and his Knights will use the next two days to prepare for their East Coast Conference opener in Buffalo, N.Y. as they match up against D'Youville University Saints at Dobson Field. Kickoff is set for 2:30 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).
