FLUSHING, N.Y. -  For the first time in 10 years, the Queens College women's soccer team is returning to postseason play as second-year head coach Thomas Paris and the Knights have clinched the #5 seed to the upcoming East Coast Conference Women's Soccer Tournament.
 
In the ECC Preseason Poll, the Knights were voted to finish fifth and have certainly lived up to the billing.
 
Last season the Knights went 2-10-3 overall and 2-4-2 in ECC play however with a full year under his belt, and along with the addition of 17 newcomers to the roster, Paris and the Knights have finished the 2023 Regular Season with an overall record of 6-6-4 and 3-3-2 in ECC play.
 
The .500 record finish is the highest season since the 2013 regular season when Queens went 11-5-1 during the regular season and made the ECC postseason tournament. 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.

Regular Season Finish (6-6-4 Overall Record | 3-3-2 ECC Record)

The Knights finished the month of October with a record of 3-2-2 which included three ECC wins on their way to returning to playoffs.
 
In 17 games played, the Knights would record 15 goals with 14 assists, while holding their opponents to 14 goals as they totaled 71 saves.
 
Out of the six wins, Queens would register two of them against national and regional ranked opponents in Thomas Jefferson University and Southern New Hampshire University.
 
Wins against quality opponents would also get Paris and his Knights recognition from United Soccer Coaches as they found themselves ranked #10 in the East Region on Sept. 12.
 
On the offensive end, the Knights have been led by captain junior Julia Ragone (Centereach, N.Y.) who has recorded a career-best season with a team-high 17 points with seven goals and three assists to go with four game-winning goals.
 
Her weekly performances have seen her earn a team-high five weekly awards honor including one Offensive Player of the Week.
 
While fellow captain and teammate Jacklyn Diel (Stony Brook, N.Y.) has recorded two goals and one assist on the year for five points on the year.
 
On the defensive end, the Knights are led by graduate student Erin Kelly (Massapequa, N.Y.) in goal who has posted 58 saves with a goals against average of 0.84.
 
On the year Kelly has earned one defensive player of the week honors to go with three Honor Roll spots.
 
Out of the six losses, the Knights have fallen to the score of 1-0 in four of those matches as Kelly and her backline continued to keep their side in each match until the final whistle.

Back To Postseason Play

Entering Saturday's match needing a victory over D'Youville to officially clinch a spot, Queens would take fate into their own hands and earn a 2-0 victory to move from the #6 spot to the #5 spot in the ECC standing.
 
Entering playoffs just for the first time since the 2013 season, Paris and the Knights will use the week to prepare for #4 seed Molloy University Lions in their First Round Match which gets underway Thursday (Nov. 2) evening in Rockville Centre, N.Y. at 7:00 p.m.
 
During the regular season, Queens earned a hard-fought scoreless draw against the Lions in Rockville Center on Oct. 21 as they ended a three-match losing streak and earned their first point over their ECC foe since the 2018 season when both sides played out to a double-overtime draw in Rockville Centre.

Molloy University Lions Preview

The Lions finished the regular season with an overall record of 8-4-5 and 4-2-2 in ECC play and enter the tournament as the #4 seed as they make their fourth straight ECC postseason appearance.
 
Olivia Ingenito leads the offense having recorded 10 goals for a team-high 20 points, while Sarah Tappeto has recorded six goals and five assists for 17 points. In goal, Elyse Munoz has recorded 30 saves and holds a 0.95 goals against average.

If Knights Advance:

A win over Molloy will set up a meeting with the #1 seed and Regular Season Champions Roberts Wesleyan University Redhawks on Sunday (Nov. 5) afternoon with a kickoff time of 2:00 p.m.

Tickets

Fans are encouraged to buy their tickets in advance and avoid having any issues at the entrance.  
Link: https://eccsports.org/sports/2023/10/30/tickets.aspx

• Adults: $8
• students (with ID) | Senior citizens | Children 5 and up: $4
• Children under 5: Free of charge.  

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)