FLUSHING, N.Y. – Concluding their homestand on Saturday evening, the Queens College women's soccer team welcomed the Spartans of St. Thomas Aquinas College to Knights Field in East Coast Conference play.
Trailing the match 1-0 with time winding down, rookie forward
Avery Shreffler (Westlake, OH) delivered a perfect corner kick for redshirt-sophomore defender
Ava Lekanides (Garden City, N.Y.) to head home the tying goal in the 84th minute, as the Knights earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw against the Spartans.
With the tie, the Knights improve to 1-2-1 in ECC play.
Prior to the match, head coach
Thomas Paris and the Knights honored their two graduating seniors, midfielder
Brianna Obregon (Deer Park, N.Y.) and midfielder
Adriana Melgar (Queens, N.Y.), for their dedication to Queens College and the women's soccer program.
MATCH RECAP
The Queens College Knights dictated the tempo in the opening 20 minutes, registering a pair of early shots, including efforts on goal from defender
Ava Angiuli (Wantagh, N.Y.) in the 12
th minute and rookie forward
Grace Kinney (Sammamish, WA) in the 20
th minute.
The Spartans responded with a shot on goal in the 23rd minute, but sophomore goalie
Samantha Hines-Hirsch (Plainview, N.Y.) came up with a crucial save to keep the game scoreless.
Queens continued to press forward, and in the 34th minute, rookie Shreffler had a shot on goal turned away by the Spartans' goalkeeper.
Despite the Knights' attacking momentum, it was the Spartans who broke the deadlock in the 41st minute, capitalizing on a set piece to take a 1-0 lead.
Queens nearly responded immediately. In the 42nd minute, junior midfielder
Ashley Kieblesz (Middle Village, N.Y.) fired a shot on target, but again the Spartans' goalkeeper came up big, sending the Knights into halftime trailing 1-0.
It would be a quiet opening 10 minutes of the second half as the Knights looked for the equalizer.
The second half began quietly, with neither side creating clear chances in the opening 10 minutes. In the 58th minute, senior Melgar looked to level the score, but her shot was once again stopped by the Spartans' goalkeeper.
Hines-Hirsch kept Queens within striking distance in the 72nd minute with another clutch save to deny the visitors a potential second goal.
As the Spartans pushed for a late insurance goal, they earned a free kick from 19 yards out in the 82nd minute, but the attempt sailed wide of the goal.
With time winding down, Queens mounted one final push. Kieblesz's shot in the closing minutes was saved, but it resulted in a corner kick opportunity.
Shreffler, who had recorded the game-winning assist in the victory over Post on Wednesday evening, stepped up once again, delivering a perfectly placed corner from the right side that found Lekandies, who headed home the equalizer in the 83rd minute to level the match at 1-1.
Queens pressed for a potential winner, earning two more chances before the final whistle. Junior midfielder
Anna Tavantzis (Holbrook, N.Y.) tested the Spartans' keeper with a shot on goal in the 89th minute, but a final save preserved the result as both teams shared equal ECC honors with one point apiece in a 1-1 draw.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Lekandies recorded her second goal of the season, all in ECC play, bringing her total points to four
- Shreffler tallied her second career assist of the year and extended her points tally to two.
- In goal, Hines-Hirsch recorded two saves.
- The Knights outshot the Spartans 14-5, 8-3 shots on goal.
NEXT MATCH
The Knights kick off a season-high, four-match road trip on Tuesday, October 14, traveling to Worcester, MA, for a non-conference matchup against the Assumption University Greyhounds. Kickoff is scheduled 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)
