ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. – Looking to bounce back in the wins column, the Queens College men's soccer team opened a two-match road stand beginning with a trip to Rockville Centre, N.Y. on Saturday afternoon against the Lions of Molloy University at RVC Sports Complex.
Sophomore
Harry Cooke (Market Drayton, England) recorded his team-leading third game-winning goal of the year before freshman
Tommy Wagner (East Northport, N.Y.) and sophomore
David Akpan (Brentwood, N.Y.) added second-half goals as the Knights earned a 3-0 shutout victory over the Lions in East Coast Conference play.
With the win, the Knights improved to 7-6-2 overall and 4-3 in ECC play to boost their conference standing for a top-four finish with one match to go.
Match Recap
The Lions began the afternoon as the aggressors as they earned a corner kick in the fourth minute of play but the Knights' defense would negate the set piece before picking up the tempo.
In the 14
th minute of play, freshman
Andrew Johnson (Oakdale, N.Y.) tallied the first shot on goal but would be denied by a timely save from the Lions goalie. After a quiet passage of play, Queens increased their attacking opportunities with three shots including a free kick from Cooke that just missed sneaking into the top left corner of the goal in the 31
st minute of play.
Staying on the offense, Queens would get another free kick from 19-yard out in the 36
th minute of play but this time Cooke would be on target as the sophomore curved a ball past the four-wall and the diving Lions goalie into the right side of the net for a 1-0 lead.
Queens would take a 1-0 lead into halftime as they outshot Molloy 6-2 in the first half.
The Knights began the second half where they left off in the first half as they tallied three shots in the opening seven minutes into resumption.
Holding a 1-0 lead, Queens would continue to deny the Lions any attacking opportunities as they kept the shutout intact.
Entering the final 15 minutes of play, a quick corner kick from the Knights would lead into a 2-0 lead as a failed clearance allowed Wager to right-foot tap the ball into the bottom right corner as Queens doubled their advantage.
The Knights would round out the scoring in the 83
rd minute of play as senior
Juan Monge Allue (Zaragoza, Spain) and sophomore
Arvin Pereira (Westbury, N.Y.) connected for a through ball for Akpan to slide kick the goal for a 3-0 final scoreline and earn their fourth ECC win of the year.
Match Highlights
- Cooke led the offense with his team-leading eighth goal and third game-winner of the year.
- The sophomore leads the team with eight goals and three assists for 19 points.
- Wagner and Akpan recorded their first career goals in Knights uniform.
- In net, senior Austin Matthews (Chico, CA) made two saves on the afternoon to earn his first win of the year.
- The Knights recorded their third shutout of the year.
- Queens held a 17-7 shots and 9-2 shots on goal advantage.
Next Match
Head coach
Frank Vertullo and the Knights conclude non-conference play Wednesday (Oct. 25) afternoon with a trip to Philadelphia, PA as they match up against the Rams of Thomas Jefferson University. Kickoff is set for 2:00 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), X (Formerly Twitter) (@QCKnights), and Instagram (qcknightsny), men's soccer (qcmsoccer).
