FLUSHING, N.Y. – Looking to return to the wins column, the Queens College men's soccer team welcomed the Redhawks of Roberts Wesleyan University to Flushing for an East Coast Conference match at Knights Field.
Three first-half goals would see the Knights take a commanding lead of 3-1 at halftime before senior
Leo Pinto's (Forest Hills, N.Y.) first brace of the year helped the Knights build a cushion of 4-1. However, two late goals from the Redhawks would threaten Queens from earning the victory before the Knights held on for a 4-3 ECC victory Saturday evening.
With the victory, the Knights improved to 6-5-2 overall, and 3-2 in ECC play on the year.
Match Recap
The Knights wasted no time getting on the board as Pinto delivered a cross for 20 yards out for sophomore
Harry Cooke (Market Drayton, England) to deflect home the goal for a 1-0 lead just 41 seconds into the match.
In the eighth minute of play, Queens would double their advantage as senior
Adolfo Martinez Paquet (Sevilla, Spain) and Cooke quickly worked for rookie
Andrew Johnson (Oakdale, N.Y.) to dribble past the Redhawks defense for a 2-0 lead.
However, in the 18
th minute of play, the Redhawks would trim the Knights' advantage down to 2-1 as they converted on a penalty kick.
Queens would continue to keep the pressure on the Redhawks' defense as they looked to extend their advantage in the first half.
As Paquet's shot was denied by the Redhawks goalie in the 39
th minute, Pinto would deliver for the Knights with a left-footed rocket shot from 15 yards out into the top left corner for a 3-1 lead heading into halftime.
Picking up where they left off in the first half, Queens continued to keep the pressure on the visitors' defense as they tallied five shots in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
As the Knights won the ball back in the midfield, a cross from rookie
Juan Gomez (Brentwood, N.Y.) would help Queens take a 4-1 commanding lead as Pinto completed his first brace of the year with a tap-in to beat the Redhawks goalie in the 58
th minute of play.
The Knights and their defense would hold the Redhawks off the board until the visitors attempted a late comeback with two quick goals in the final five minutes of play as a 4-1 scoreline was quickly down to 4-3 with 3:45 still left in the match.
But the Knights defense would their nerves over the final three minutes of play to earn their third ECC victory and return to the wins column for their sixth victory of the year.
Match Highlights
- Pinto led the Knights with a team-high five points on the evening with his first brace of the year as he recorded his fourth and fifth goal and third assist of the year.
- With his fifth goal and third assist of the year, the senior has tallied 12 career goals and eight assists in 50 matches for a total of 32 career points.
- Pinto's 32 career points see the Forest Hills native move to sixth on the All-Time Career Points, while his 12th goal sees him move into a tie for sixth for All-Time Goals, and his eighth assist moves him into a tie for seventh All-Time Assists.
- The senior recorded his first game-winner of the year and third of his career.
- Cooke recorded his team-leading seventh goal and tallied his third assist of the year.
- The sophomore leads the Knights with 17 points on the year.
- Rookie Johnson recorded his third goal of the year and second of the week.
- Paquet recorded his team-leading 10th assist of the year.
- For the 10th straight match, Paquet has recorded a point to extend his career points tally to 40 in 33 matches.
- With the 40th point of his career, Paquet is fifth in All-Time Career Points.
- With his 10th assist of the year, Paquet becomes the first Knight to register 10 assists in a single season as the senior takes sole possession of the Season Single Assist category breaking the tie for first place with Andras Breuer who recorded nine assists during the 2017 season.
- Paquet's 12th career assist sees the Sevilla native move into a tie for fourth place place on the All-Time Career Assists Record.
- Gomez recorded his second career assist in the victory.
- In net rookie Matt Katz (Amityville, N.Y.) made his season debut as he earned his first career start and recorded his first victory of the year.
- For the third time this season, the Knights offense recorded double-digit points as they tallied 12 points on the evening.
- Queens held a 22-9 shots advantage and 12-4 shots on goal margin.
- The Knights held a 10-2 margin on corner kicks.
Next Match
Head coach
Frank Vertullo and the Knights conclude their three-match homestand on Wednesday (Oct. 18) evening as they welcome the Spartans of St. Thomas Aquinas College to town for an East Coast Conference match. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Follow the Knights
All home games will be live-streamed on the
ECC Sports Network and fans can follow along on
Live Stats as well.
For the latest news on Queens College Athletics, follow the Knights at queensknights.com or via social media on Facebook (Queens College Athletics), X (Formerly Twitter) (@QCKnights), and Instagram (qcknightsny), men's soccer (qcmsoccer).
