FLUSHING, N.Y. – Entering Saturday's East Coast Conference match needing a victory to officially clinch a playoff berth, the Queens College women's soccer team welcomed the Saints of D'Youville University to Flushing.
Goals from senior
Aida Rose Dydasco Pedemonte (South San Francisco, CA) and junior
Julia Ragone (Centereach, N.Y.) would help the Knights defeat the Saints to the final score of 2-0 on Saturday afternoon.
With the victory, the Knights improved to 6-6-4 overall and 3-3-2 in ECC play as they clinched a postseason berth in the ECC Women's Soccer Tournament.
Saturday's victory over the Saints gives the Knights their first victory in three matches moving the All-Time series to 1-1-1.
With an overall record of 6-6-4, head coach
Thomas Paris and the Knights have finished the regular season with a .500 record for the first time since the 2013 season when Queens went 11-5-1 during the regular season.
The fifth-place finish is the highest since the 2013 season when Queens finished ECC play in third place with a record of 6-3.
With their victory, Paris and the Knights return to postseason play for the first time in 10 years. More details to follow.
Match Recap
The Knights wasted little time going on the offense as Ragone recorded the first shot of the match on target in the third minute of play but a timely save from the Saints goalie would deny the opening goal of the match.
After the Saints negated a corner kick, the visitors would respond but graduate student
Erin Kelly (Massapequa, N.Y.) would be equally up to the task to keep the match scoreless in the sixth minute of play.
After an offside call threatened a Queens counterattack, the Knights would strike in the 10
th minute of play as Ragone delivered a through ball for Pedemonte to chip the goalie to give Queens a 1-0 advantage.
With the Saints looking to respond in the 13
th minute of play, Kelly would deny the visitors the equalizer as she kept her team ahead.
The Saints would continue to stay on the attack as a shot headed towards goal was blocked giving D'Youville a corner kick in the 18
th minute of play.
A timely team save off the Saints set piece would deny the visitors an equalizer before the Knights held off the Saints in the first half to take a 1-0 lead going into halftime.
The Knights opened the second half as the aggressor as Queens rattled four shots including two shots in the 57
th minute of play which would be denied by a timely save from the Saints goalie before the Centereach native rebound shot deflected off the woodwork denying the Knights an opportunity to double their advantage.
With the Saints on the counterattack, Kelly would keep the Knights 1-0 lead with a timely save in the 59
th minute of play.
In the 64
th minute of play, Queens would officially seal the victory as Ragone battled past the Saints defenders before beating the Saints goalie with a goal into the bottom right side for a 2-0 lead.
Queens would play out the remainder of the match without any trouble as they held the Saints to only two shots but none to threaten the Knights goalkeepers.
Prior to kickoff, Paris and the women's soccer team honored their four graduating seniors in their dedication to Queens College and the women's soccer program as they honored
Katelyn Villacres (Bayside, N.Y.), Aida Rose Dydasco Pedemonte (South San Francisco, CA), Hayley Matthews (Freeport, N.Y.) &
Erin Kelly (Massapequa, N.Y.) in their annual Senior Day Ceremony.
Match Highlights
- Pedemonte recorded her first goal and game-winning goal of her career.
- Ragone recorded a team-high three points on the afternoon with her seventh goal and third assist of the year to extend her points tally to 17.
- The Centereach native has tallied 14 goals and seven assists to run her points tally to 35 in 43 matches.
- Ragone's 35 points moves the junior to 15th All-Time in Career Points.
- In net, Kelly and Villacres made three saves on the afternoon to earn their second combined shutout of the year.
- Queens outshot D'Youville 15-8 and 6-4 shots on goal.
- The Knights held a 7-1 advantage on corner kicks.
Next Match
Head coach
Thomas Paris and the Knights now shift their attention to ECC Postseason play. More details to follow.
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), Instagram (qcknightsny), women's soccer (qcwsoccer)
