FLUSHING, N.Y. – Returning to East Coast Conference play to conclude the week on the road, the Queens College men's soccer team traveled to Staten Island, N.Y. for a matchup against the Dolphins of College of Staten Island on Saturday afternoon.
Led by senior
Leo Pinto (Forest Hills, N.Y.) and freshman
Tommy Gunn (Buenos Aires, Argentina) goal in each half, the Knights would hold off a late rally from the Dolphins to earn a 2-1 victory.
With the win, the Knights improved their record to 5-3-1 overall and 2-1 in ECC play. Saturday's win over the Dolphins improves Queens record to 3-0 All-Time against their CUNY foe.
Match Recap
For the second straight match, the Knights would take an early lead as sophomore
Harry Cooke (Market Drayton, England) and senior
Adolfo Martinez Paquet (Sevilla, Spain) found an unmarked Pinto for the senior to complete left-foot shot into the bottom right corner for a 1-0 lead in the 11
th minute of play.
Staying on the offense, the Knights would have an attack opportunity canceled on them in the 15
th minute of play.
As the Dolphins went on the attack, junior goalie
Juan Cruz Ladino (Cali, Colombia) would be called on to make back-to-back saves in the 16
th and 18
th minutes of play.
Looking to double their advantage in the 40
th minute of play, sophomore
Chol Chol's (Atlanta, GA) shot on goal was denied by an alert Dolphins goalie.
Despite being held to two shots, the Knights would take a 1-0 lead into halftime.
Queens began the second half as the aggressor as a shot by Gunn was blocked in the 48
th minute of play.
As the Knights won the ball back in their attacking half, Pinto's shot on goal was denied by the Dolphins goalie in the 49
th minute of play, but with the Dolphins goalie unable to hold onto the ball, Gunn staying on pace with the play would put away the rebound to give Queens a 2-0 advantage.
Continuing to keep the pressure on the Dolphins' defense, Cooke's shot on goal in the 54
th minute would be bottled up by the CSI goalie.
Queens would keep the Dolphins offense out of their attacking zone until the 87
th minute as the home side cut the Knights advantage down to 2-1.
But Ladino and the Knights defense would hold on for the final three minutes of play to earn their second ECC win of the year.
Match Highlights
- Pinto led the way recording a match-high three points with a goal and assist.
- The senior recorded his second goal and assist of the year.
- The Forest Native has tallied nine goals and seven assists for 25 points in 46 career matches moving him into a tie for ninth place on the All-Time Career Points Record.
- Gunn recorded his fourth career goal of the season.
- The rookie recorded his second career game-winning goal.
- Paquet recorded his team-leading seventh assist of the year, while Cooke tallied his second assist of the year.
- For the sixth straight match, Paquet has recorded a point to extend his career points tally to 33 in 29 matches.
- With his 33rd point of his career, Paquet moves to fifth in All-Time Career Points.
- The seven assists see the senior tie Glen Reid (2013) for second place on the Single-Season Assists Record.
- In goal, Ladino made two saves on the afternoon to earn his fifth victory of the year.
Next Match
Head coach
Frank Vertullo and the Knights open the month of October with a two-match road stand beginning on Tuesday (Oct. 3) evening as they travel to Springfield, MA. with a non-conference match against the Yellowjackets of American International College. Kickoff is set for 7:00 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).
