FLUSHING, N.Y. – Sophomore forward
Miguel Soto Gonzalez (Madrid, Spain) recorded a first-half brace to kick off the season as the Queens College men's soccer team welcomed the Greyhounds of Assumption University to Knights in the season opener for both teams.
Despite a brace from Soto Gonzalez, it would be the Greyhounds who would walk off away with the victory defeating the Knights to the final of 3-2 Thursday evening.
Game Recap
Queens got off a quick start in the fourth minute of play as junior forward
Harry Cooke (Market Drayton, England) took advantage of a bad pass from the Greyhounds defender to find Soto Gonzalez who would complete the shot to put the Knights up 1-0 from five yards out.
The Greyhounds would look to respond right away but a timely save from junior goalie
Noris Iten (Sachseln, Switzerland) would keep the Knights' lead intact.
Both teams would combine for seven shots over the next 12 minutes of play before the Greyhounds capitalized to tie the game in the 18
th minute of play.
With the game tied at 1-1, sophomore midfielder
Fortune Uzo (Valley Stream, N.Y.) shot in the 20
th minute would get blocked before the visitors counterattacked to take a 2-1 lead in the 21
st minute of play.
Trailing 2-1, the Knights responded just 50 seconds later off a throw in from graduate forward
Carlos Almeida (Sao Paulo, Brazil) to Cooke who found the sophomore Soto Gonzalez at the top of the 18-yard box to blast a ball through the right side as Queens tied the game at 2-2.
The Knights would stay as the aggressor for the remainder of the first half as they outshot the Greyhounds 4-2 but both teams would take a 2-2 tie into the second half.
The Greyhounds opened the second half in control before sophomore
Andrew Johnson (Oakdale, N.Y.) put a shot on goal but was denied by a timely save from the Greyhounds goalie.
As the visitors attempted to maintain possession of the game, they would take a 3-2 lead in the 56
th minute of play on another counterattack.
Trialing for the second time on the night, the Knights would continue to maintain possession but each time would run into a tough backline.
After an offside call canceled the visitor's attacking opportunity, the Knights would counterattack as freshman midfielder
Bastian Engeli (Oslo, Norway) and graduate student midfielder
John Morell (New Britain, CT) attempted back-to-back shots on goal in the 77
th minute but were denied of the tying goal.
With time running out, Queens would maintain possession for the final 10 minutes of play in search of the tying goal.
The Knights would get one final attempt in the final shot in the final 33 seconds of the game but senior defender
Joaquim Johnson's (Brooklyn, N.Y.) header attempt would be saved as the Greyhounds earned the victory in the season opener.
By the Numbers
- Soto Gonzalez opened his Knights career with a first-half brace for a career-high four points.
- Cooke recorded two assists for two points, while Almeida notched one assist for one point to open his Knights point tally.
- In goal, Iten recorded six saves on the night.
- The Knights outshot the Greyhounds 21-17 with 13-9 shots on goal advantage.
- Soto Gonzalez recorded a team-high six shots with five shots on goal.
- Morell recorded three shots on goal.
- Assumption held a 5-3 advantage on corner kicks.
Next Game:
It is a quick turnaround for the Knights as they use Friday to prepare for their second home of the year on Saturday, Sept. 7 as they welcome two-time NCAA defending National Champions Franklin Pierce University Ravens 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).
