SPARKILL, N.Y. – Looking to conclude their two-game East Coast Conference road stand on a strong note, the Queens College women's soccer team matched up against the Spartans of St. Thomas Aquinas College at Spartan Field.
Queens wasted little time in taking a lead as they were led by sophomore
Ashley Kieblesz (Middle Village, N.Y.) notching the game-winning goal in the 12
th minute of play and senior
Julia Ragone's (Centereach, N.Y.) recording her team-leading eighth goal of the year to help double their advantage in the 21
st minute for a 2-0 lead before freshman goalie
Samantha Hines-Hirsch (Plainview, N.Y.) and her defense helped the Knights earn a 2-0 shutout victory over the Spartans.
With the win, the Knights improved to 8-5-1, 4-2 in ECC play on the year. Sunday's win over STAC earned Queens their first road victory over their ECC foe for the first time since October 12, 2013, when the Knights earned a 2-0 shutout victory.
With their eighth victory of the year head coach
Thomas Paris and the Knights have recorded the most wins in a single season since the 2013 season.
GAME RECAP
It would be the Spartans who opened the game recording the first shot of the game and it would be on target in the fourth minute of play but rookie goalie Hines-Hirsch would be up to the task as she made a timely save.
Kieblesz would tally the Knights' first shot of the game in the sixth minute of play but the shot would sail high before an offside call canceled another attacking opportunity for Queens in the seventh minute of play.
The Spartans would tally another shot on goal in the 10
th minute of play but Hines-Hirsch would be up to the task to keep the game scoreless.
On the counterattack, it would be the Knights who would strike first as sophomore
Jenna Rosenberger's (Smithtown, N.Y.) shot on goal was denied by the Spartans goalie but Kieblesz would be in the right spot at the right time to put the rebound away as Queens opened the scoring in the 12
th minute of play.
Continuing to apply the pressure, Ragone battling past three Spartans defenders would put the Knights up 2-0 with a right-foot blast from 16 yards out in the 21
st minute of play for her eighth goal of the year.
The Spartans would record three more shots on goal but each time Hines-Hirsch and her defense would stand strong as Queens took a 2-0 lead into halftime.
In the second half, The Knights would outshoot the home team 9-4 as Queens maintained majority of the possession.
As Hines-Hirsch and her defense kept the Spartans out of their attacking half, the rookie would notch two more saves to her tally to earn her second shutout of the week as Queens earned a 2-0 victory and officially clinched the third seed to the ECC Women's Soccer Tournament.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Kieblesz recorded her third goal and game-winner of the year to extend her points tally to six.
- Ragone tallied her team-leading and career-best eighth goal and 17th point of the year.
- In goal, Hines-Hirsch recorded seven saves and earned her fifth career shutout.
- The Knights outshot the Spartans 16-12, and 11-7 shots on goal.
- Kieblesz and Ragone combined for eight shots and five shots on goal.
- While four Knights in senior Erica Petrie (Marlboro, N.Y.), Rosenberger, sophomore Anna Tavantzis (Holbrook, N.Y.), and rookie Keeley Harden (Orlando, Fla.) combined for seven shots and six shots on goal.
NEXT GAME
The Knights conclude the regular season with back-to-back home games starting on Wednesday, Oct. 30 beginning with non-conference play as they match up against the Chargers of Dominican University of New York. Kick-off is set for 5:00 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), Instagram (qcknightsny), women's soccer (qcwsoccer)
