FLUSHING, N.Y. – Opening the week in non-conference play, the Queens College women's soccer team welcomed the Lightning of Goldey-Beacom College to Flushing for the first time since the 2017 season Tuesday evening.
Led by junior
Julia Ragone's (Centereach, N.Y.) third goal of the year and freshman
Laila Morales's (Long Island City, N.Y.) first career goal, the Knights earned their second shutout of the season with a 2-0 victory over the Lightning.
With the win, the Knights improved their overall record to 3-4-1 on the season. Tuesday's win over Goldey-Beacom earned the Knights their first victory over their non-conference foe in three matches.
Match Recap
In the absence of graduate student goalie
Erin Kelly (Massapequa, N.Y), sophomore
Katelyn Villacres (Bayside, N.Y.) earned her first start of the season Tuesday evening.
In the seventh minute of play, the Lightning tallied the first shot of the match on target but Villacres was up to the task making the first of her five saves on the night. But the Knights would waste no time in responding on the counterattack as junior
Jacklyn Diel (Stony Brook, N.Y.) shot on goal in the eighth minute of play was denied by the Lightning goalie.
Queens kept the attacking tempo on the Lightning defense as they rattled seven shots over the next 15 minutes of play.
After rookie
Jenna Rosenberger's (Smithtown, N.Y.) shot on target was denied by the defense, Queens would earn their first corner kick of the night.
After the Lightning's defense denied the Knights a scoring opportunity, Queens would win the ball back in the attacking as the duo of senior
Gabrielle Christian (Forest Hills, N.Y.) and junior
Sarah Anderson (East Setauket, N.Y.) combined for the through ball for Ragone to beat the Lightning goalie with a right foot shot into the middle of the net to take an early 1-0 lead in the 24
th minute of play.
The Knights would continue to keep the pressure on the visitors' defense for the remainder of the first half. Heading into the final five minutes of play in the first half, the Lightning would tally their second shot on goal but Villacres would make another timely save in the 41
st minute of play to ensure Queens went into halftime up 1-0.
The Lightning would start the second half as the aggressor but Villacres and her defense would continue to keep the shutout intact.
After back-to-back shots from the visitors sailed wide, Villacres would make her third save of the night in the 56
th minute of play. On the counterattack in the 58
th minute, Ragone's opportunity for her second goal of the night would sail out left.
With a midfield battle brewing, Queens would pick up the tempo in the latter stage of the match as they rattled three shots on target from the 70
th minute to the 78
th minute of play.
As the Knights midfield won the ball in their attacking half, a cross from Diel would find an unmarked Morales in the 18-yard box for the Long Island City native to complete a one-touch right-foot shot past the Lightning goalie into the bottom right corner to give Queens a commanding lead of 2-0 in the 80
th minute of play.
Queens would maintain possession for the final 10 minutes to play to earn their first victory over the Lightning in three matches for a 2-0 shutout win Tuesday evening.
Match Highlights
- Ragone tallied her team-leading third goal of the season.
- The Centereach native recorded her third career-and-season game-winning goal.
- Off the bench, rookie Morales recorded her first career goal of her Knights career.
- Christian and Anderson tallied their first assist of the season in the Knights' first goal of the night.
- Christian recorded her third career assist, while Anderson notched the fifth assist of her career.
- Diel recorded her first assist of the year and third of her career.
- Earing her first start of the season, Villacres recorded five saves on the night while earning her first career shutout.
- Queens outshot Goldey-Beacom 21-8 including an 8-5 shots on goal advantage.
- The 21 shots and eight shots on goal are a season-high for the Knights offense.
Next Match
Head coach
Thomas Paris and the Knights return to East Coast Conference play to conclude the week as they travel to Staten Island, N.Y. on Saturday (Sept. 30) morning as they matchup against the Dolphins of College of Staten Island. Kickoff is set for 11:00 a.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), Instagram (qcknightsny), women's soccer (qcwsoccer)
