AMHERST, N.Y. – Looking to conclude their road stand on a high note, the Queens College men's soccer team traveled to Royal Park in Amherst for an East Coast Conference showdown against the Daemen University Wildcats Saturday afternoon.
Queens took a 1-0 lead into halftime before the Wildcats leveled the score in the 65th minute. With the match tied, the Knights erupted for three unanswered goals, including a pair scored within 30 seconds. Junior midfielder
Andrew Johnson (Oakdale, N.Y.) recorded his first game-winning goal, while rookie forward
Bradyn Brown (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) notched his first career brace. Redshirt-junior forward
Tommy Gunn (Buenos Aires, Argentina) capped off the scoring to help the Knights secure a 4-1 victory over the Wildcats.
With the win, Queens improves to 7-1-2 overall and 3-0-1 in ECC play. The victory marks the Knights' fourth consecutive win over the Wildcats.
MATCH RECAP
Queens wasted little time putting the Wildcats under pressure.
In the ninth minute, the duo of
Cillian Heaney (Westport, Ireland) and junior forward
Miguel Soto Gonzalez (Madrid, Spain) combined with Brown to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.
The Knights controlled possession throughout, outshooting Daemen 10-1 over the final 35 minutes of the first half. Meanwhile, redshirt-sophomore goalie
Thanasis Shehadeh (Nicosia, Cyprus) and the backline kept the Wildcats off the board, not allowing a single shot on target.
Looking to double their advantage, the Knights earned three corner kicks in the opening eight minutes of the second half. In the 53rd minute, Gunn's shot on target was denied by a timely save from the Wildcats.
Daemen then controlled the next 10 minutes, recording two shots on goal, but both were turned away by Shehadeh. However, the Wildcats found the back of the net in the 65th minute, tying the match at 1-1.
With the game tied, Queens earned back-to-back corner kicks but couldn't capitalize.
In the 68
th minute, junior forward
Jason Udo (Bronx, N.Y.) sparked momentum before Johnson buried a shot from 15 yards out, giving the Knights a 2-1 lead.
Just 28 seconds later, led by Soto Gonzalez, Queens extended their lead to 3-1. The junior forward set up Brown, who blasted a shot into the top left corner for his second goal of the match.
Maintaining possession, the Knights held the Wildcats without a shot for the remainder of the match before senior
David Oprea (Oslo, Norway) delivered a through ball to Gunn, who tapped the ball into the right corner to seal a 4-1 ECC victory and close out the road stand.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Johnson scored his third goal of the year and first game-winning goal of the year to extend his points tally to six.
- Brown recorded his first career brace, notching his team-leading eighth and ninth goals of the year.
- The rookie extends his points tally to a team-tying 19 with nine goals and one assist.
- Gunn recorded his third goal of the year and extended his points tally to nine with three goals and three assists.
- Soto Gonzalez recorded his team-leading eighth and ninth assists and extended his points tally to a team-tying 19 with five goals and nine assists.
- Heaney recorded his third assist of the year and extended his points tally to three.
- Udo recorded his fourth assist of the year and extended his points tally to four.
- Oprea recorded his first assist of the year and extended his points tally to three.
- In goal, Shehadeh recorded two saves to earn his seventh victory of the year.
- The Knights outshot the Wildcats 20-4, 13-3 shots on goal.
NEXT MATCH
The Knights open a two-match homestand on Wednesday, October 8, as they welcome the University of Bridgeport Purple Knights to Knights Field in non-conference play. Kickoff is set for 7:30 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).
