FLUSHING, N.Y. – Trailing 1-0 with 11 minutes remaining in the game, junior
Adriana Melgar (Queens, N.Y.) and sophomore
Ashley Kieblesz (Middle Village, N.Y.) would stun the visiting Cougars of Caldwell University as the Queens College women's soccer team rallied to earn their first victory of the season to the final score of 2-1 Wednesday evening at Knights Field.
With the win, the Knights improve to 1-2 on the year and end their first homestand of the year on a strong note. It is also Queens' first win over Caldwell since the 2011 season when the Knights earned a 3-0 road victory back on October 13.
GAME RECAP
The first half would be a quiet affair for both sides with sophomore
Jenna Rosenberger (Smithtown, N.Y.) registering the lone shot on goal in the 25
th minute of play but would be denied by a timely save from the Cougars goalie.
Queens would outshoot the Cougars 5-1 in the first half but both sides would a scoreless tie into halftime.
The second half of the game would be dominated by the Knights as they outshot the Cougars to a total of 16-5 but the visitors' defense would continue to keep the game deadlocked in a scoreless tie.
With the game clock entering the final 15 minutes of play, it would be the Cougars who struck first on a counterattack as they took a 1-0 lead in the 79
th minute of play.
Now in a race against time and looking to find the tying goal, Queens wasted no time in responding. In the 80
th minute of play, senior
Julia Ragone's (Centereach, N.Y) shot would get blocked but a failed clearance from the Cougars allowed Melgar to dribble near the 18-yard box to send a right-foot blast into the top left corner for the game-tying goal.
Having tied the game once again, the Knights would strike again in the 84
th minute of play as sophomore
Lluvy Lewis (Valley Stream, N.Y.) dribbled up the field to find Kieblesz who delivered with the game-winning goal for another 18-yard blast over the Cougars goalie to put the Knights up 2-1.
Caldwell would attempt to find the equalizer but rookie goalie
Samantha Hines-Hirsch (Plainview, N.Y.) would make two big back-to-back timely saves in the 86
th minute of play to earn her first win of the year as Queens closed out the game without any further damage.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Melgar and Kieblesz led the way with a goal each as the duo combined for four points.
- Kieblesz scored her first game-winning goal of the season.
- Lewis notched her first assist of the year and second of her career.
- The Knights outshot the Cougars to a total of 21-5 and 5-4 shots on goal advantage.
- The 21-shot attempts are a season-high and the most in a game since Queens attempted 21 shots in the 2-0 victory over Goldey-Beacom on Sept. 26.
- Ragone tallied a game-high six shots and one shot on goal.
- Kieblesz notched three shots and a team-high two shots on goal.
- Hines-Hirsch made three saves between the pipes and earned her first career victory.
- Queens held a 6-1 advantage on corner kicks.
- A total of 13 fouls were called as the Cougars committed 10 compared to the Knights 3.
NEXT GAME
The Knights open a two-game roadstand beginning on Saturday, Sept. 14 as they travel to Waterbury, CT for a non-conference game against the Eagles of Post University. Kick-off is set for noon.
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)
