BUFFALO, N.Y. – Playing their second game in three days, the Queens College men's soccer team traveled to Buffalo for an East Coast Conference contest against the Saints of D'Youville University at Dobson Field.
In a defensive first-half battle where the Knights were outshot 5-3 junior
Harry Cooke (Market Drayton, England) would record his straight second game-winning goal of the week to end the first half before sophomore
Andrew Johnson (Oakdale, N.Y.) first goal of the season in the 83
rd minute sealed the contest as Queens earned a 2-0 victory over the Saints Saturday afternoon.
With the win, Queens improved to 4-4 overall on the year and 2-0 in ECC play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Playing in windy and rainy conditions, the first 10 minutes of the game would be a quiet affair before the Saints attempted to take a 1-0 but a timely clearance at the goal line would keep the game scoreless in the 17
th minute of play.
Sophomore goalie
Thanasis Shehadeh (Nicosia, Cyprus) making his second career start and first in ECC play would deny the Saints a goal in the 28
th minute of play and keep the game scoreless.
The Knights would be outshot 3-0 in the first 30 minutes of play before Queens picked up the tempo as junior
Kevin Johnson (Oakdale, N.Y.) notched the first shot of the game for the visitors in the 33
rd minute of play but the shot would sail top right.
Staying with the momentum Cooke's shot in the 38
th minute of play would hit the left post as Queens inched closer to taking a 1-0 lead.
As Queens stayed in their attacking half, freshman
Bastian Engeli (Bergen, Norway) would battle past D'Youville defender before finding Cooke with a header pass for the junior to blast a right-foot shot from five yards out for a 1-0 lead in the 39
th minute of play.
The Saints would attempt to tie the game in the final five minutes of the first play but both shots would sail out right as the Knights took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
The second half of the game would see Queens control the passage of play as they outshot the Saints 7-3 including five shots on goal.
The fouls count would pick up on both teams in the opening 15 minutes of the second half before Queens led by Engeli and freshman
Kleverson Bolanos (Kew Gardens, N.Y.) notched back-to-back shots on goal but time saves from the Saints goalie would keep Queens lead at 1-0.
As Queens continued to maintain possession and keep the Saints off the ball, the Knights would seal the game in the 83
rd minute of play. As sophomore
Miguel Soto Gonzalez (Madrid, Spain) dribbled up the field before delivering a cross that just missed Cooke, sophomore Johnson blasted a shot into the middle of the net as Queens took a commanding lead of 2-0 and earned their second straight ECC victory of the season.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Cooke recorded his team-leading 19th point of the year with his team-tying seventh goal and second straight game-winning goal.
- The junior has recorded 15 points in the last four games recording six goals and three assists.
- On the year Cooke has notched seven goals and five assists for a team-high 19 points.
- Johnson recorded his first goal of the year and sixth of his career.
- Engeli and Soto Gonzalez both recorded their second assist of the year.
- In goal, Shehadeh recorded one save to earn his second career win and earned his second straight shutout of the year.
- Queens outshot D'Youville 10-8 and held 6-2 shots on goal advantage.
- Cooke and Engeli combined for four shots and three shots on goal.
NEXT GAME
The Knights continue East Coast Conference play as they open a season-high five-game homestand beginning on Wednesday, Oct. 2 as the Firebirds of the University of the District of Columbia come to town. 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), and Instagram (qcknightsny), men's soccer (qcmsoccer).
