FLUSHING, N.Y. – The Queens College men's soccer team ended week four of play with back-to-back shutout victories including their second straight East Coast Conference victory of the year.
 
Head coach Frank Vertullo and the Knights defeated Chestnut Hill 7-0 at home on Thursday before ending the week with a 2-0 victory in Buffalo over D'Youville Saturday afternoon.

Queens College Preview (2024 Record: 4-4 Overall, 2-0 ECC)

• Queens extended their wins streak to three games in week four by recording a season-high seven goal performance in the victory over Chestnut Hill at home Thursday evening before earning their second ECC victory and second straight shutout of the week with a 2-0 road ECC victory over D'Youville on Saturday.
• As a team, the Knights have recorded 20 goals registering 127 shots with 69 shots on goals.
• Junior forward Harry Cooke (Market Drayton, England) leads the team with a team-high 19 points having tallied seven goals and five assists on the year.
  • On Monday, Sept. 30 Cooke earned ECC Offensive Player of the Week honors as he led the way with 10 points with four goals and two assists.
  • The junior has also earned an ECC Honor Roll spot (9.23) on the year.
• Sophomore forward Miguel Soto Gonzalez (Madrid, Spain) has recorded 16 points with a team-tying seven goals to go with two assists.
  • On Monday, Sept. 30, Soto Gonzalez earned his second ECC weekly honor as he was named to the Honor Roll sheet.
• Graduate student forward Carlos Almeida (Sao Paulo, Brazil) has recorded a team-tying five assists on the year.
• Junior Kevin Johnson (Oakdale, N.Y.), redshirt junior Eyob Gaffigan (Walkersville, MD), freshman Bastian Engeli (Bergen, Norway), sophomore Andrew Johnson (Oakdale, N.Y.), and senior Joaquim Johnson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) have combined for six goals and two game-winning goals.
• In goal, junior Noris Iten (Sachseln, Switzerland) and sophomore Thanasis Shehadeh (Nicosia, Cyprus) have combined for 23 saves, two shutouts, one combined shutout, and hold a goals against average of 1.63.
  • On Monday, Sept. 30 Shehadeh was named to the ECC Honor Roll sheet for the first time in his career having recorded two shutouts.
• In the ECC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll, Vertullo and his squad have been tabbed to repeat as Champions as they earned four first-place votes for a total of 72 points. (Link)

Opponent Outlook

Vertullo and the Knights open a season-high five-game homestand beginning on Wednesday, Oct. 2 as they welcome the Firebirds of the University of the District of Columbia to town in a rematch of last year's ECC Championship game before concluding the week's play on Saturday, Oct. 5 against the Dolphins of College of Staten Island in another ECC postseason tournament rematch.

University of the District of Columbia Preview

• Overall Wins-Losses-Ties History: 9-3-1

• Last Win: 1-0 (11/11/23)
• Last Loss: 1-2 (10/7/23)
• Last Tie: 3-3 (10/6/12)
• The Firebirds enter the week with an overall record of 1-5-2 and 0-2 in ECC play as they are coming off a 5-1 loss to Mercy University on Saturday.
• Wednesday's meeting will be the 15^th overall against UDC with the Knights leading the All-Time series to a record of 9-3-1.
• Last season Queens avenged a regular season loss to the Firebirds by defeating the Firebirds in the ECC Championship game in Flushing on Saturday, November 11 to the final score of 1-0.
• In the ECC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll, the Firebirds have been tabbed to finish fourth. (Link)

College of Staten Island Preview

• Overall Wins-Losses-Ties History: 4-0
• Last Win: 2-1 (11/1/23)
• Lass Loss: -
• Last Tie: -
• The Dolphins enter the week with an overall record of 2-5, and 1-2 in ECC play and are coming off a 0-4 loss to Roberts Wesleyan University in ECC play. Staten Island will match up against St. Thomas Aquinas College on Wednesday before traveling to Flushing on Saturday to conclude the week's play.  
• Saturday's meeting will be the fifth overall meeting against Staten Island with Queens leading the All-Time series 4-0. In their last meeting, Queens earned a 2-1 victory over the Dolphins in the ECC First Round game in Flushing on November 1, 2023.
• In the ECC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll, the Saints have been tabbed to finish sixth. (Link)

Week Six Outlook:

Vertullo and the Knights will have a bye-week from conference play as they return to non-conference play beginning on Wednesday, Oct. 9 as they welcome the Rams of Thomas Jefferson University to town before concluding the week on Saturday, Oct. 12 against the Cougars of Caldwell University.

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).