FLUSHING, N.Y. – With the East Coast Conference Regular Season Title and the top seed in the upcoming postseason tournament up for grabs, the Queens College men's soccer team looked to finish the regular season strong as they welcomed the Roberts Wesleyan University Redhawks to Knights Field on Saturday afternoon.
It was a tale of two halves for the Knights, who found themselves trailing 1–0 at halftime before flipping the script in the second half. Queens erupted for four unanswered goals, beginning with junior midfielder
Andrew Johnson's (Oakdale, N.Y.) match-tying strike in the 55th minute. Senior forward
Harry Cooke (Market Drayton, England) then gave the Knights the lead for good, converting from the penalty spot in the 62nd minute. The offensive surge continued as junior forward
Miguel Soto Gonzalez (Madrid, Spain) and rookie
Bradyn Brown (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) added insurance goals in the 67th and 78th minutes, respectively, to seal a thrilling 4–1 comeback victory over the Redhawks.
With the victory, head coach
Frank Vertullo and the Knights concluded the regular season with an impressive 12–3–3 overall record and a 6–0–2 mark in ECC play. The result clinched Queens' second straight ECC Regular Season Championship, as the Knights successfully defended their crown.
Queens becomes the first team since Mercy University (2018–19) to capture back-to-back ECC Regular Season Titles. Dating back to 2007, Vertullo and his squad are just the third program to finish the ECC regular season undefeated, joining LIU Post University (2016–17) and Dowling College (2007–08).
SENIOR DAY
Prior to the contest, the Knights celebrated 11 members of the
2025 graduating class during the program's annual
Senior Day Ceremony:
Defender #2: Zach Fawaz
Forward #25: David Akpan
Defender #5: Andreas Charalambous
Midfielder #29: Arvin Pereira
Forward #7: David Oprea
Defender & Captain #18: Eyob Gaffigan
Forward #17: Tommy Gunn
Forward #10: Miguel Soto Gonzalez
Defender #4: Tommy Wagner
Forward #9: Harry Cooke
Midfielder & Captain #6: Kevin Johnson
Team IMPACT: Liam Jiminez
MATCH RECAP
It was all Queens in the first half, as the Knights dictated the tempo from the opening whistle.
Junior forward
Jason Udo (Bronx, N.Y.) created the first opportunity of the match in the third minute, but his effort sailed just over the top-left corner. The Redhawks answered with their first look of the contest in the seventh minute, though their attempt went wide left.
Despite the Knights' early control, a foul in the 21st minute awarded the Redhawks a set piece, and the visitors capitalized, converting in the 22nd minute to take a 1–0 lead.
Queens dominated possession for the remainder of the half, holding Roberts Wesleyan without a shot over the final 20 minutes, while tallying seven of their own. However, the Knights were unable to find the back of the net and entered halftime trailing 1–0.
The second half would see Queens flip the script and rewrite their own history as they mounted an inspired comeback.
Maintaining their intensity, Udo and senior midfielder
Kevin Johnson (Oakdale, N.Y.) opened the half with back-to-back chances in the 50th and 52nd minutes as Queens pushed for the equalizer.
Their persistence paid off in the 55th minute, when junior Johnson sliced through the Redhawks' defense and unleashed a powerful right-footed strike that ricocheted off the left post and into the net to level the match at 1–1.
Just seven minutes later, Johnson drew a penalty in the 62nd minute, setting up Cooke, who calmly buried the spot kick to give Queens a 2–1 lead.
The Redhawks nearly found an equalizer in the 64th minute, but redshirt-sophomore goalie
Thanasis Shehadeh (Nicosia, Cyprus) came up with a crucial save to preserve the advantage.
Queens extended their lead in the 67th minute as Cooke found Soto Gonzalez, who headed home from close range to make it 3–1.
After another timely save from Shehadeh in the 73rd minute, Cooke was once again at the heart of the attack, flicking a header forward for Brown to smash into the net in the 78th minute, sealing a commanding 4–1 lead for the Knights.
Over the final 10 minutes, Shehadeh added two more saves to his total as the Knights closed out a 4–1 comeback victory, clinching their second straight ECC Regular Season Title and the No. 1 seed for the upcoming postseason tournament.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Cooke led the way with a match-high four points, tallying his eighth goal of the season along with his first two assists of the year.
- With the performance, Cooke raised his season total to 18 points (8 goals, 2 assists).
- Cooke's eighth goal and the 41st of his career officially broke the Queens College all-time program record for career goals.
- Johnson recorded his sixth goal of the season, setting a new career high and bringing his total to 12 points (6 goals).
- Soto Gonzalez netted his sixth goal of the year, extending his season tally to 24 points (6 goals, 12 assists).
- Brown continued his breakout freshman campaign, scoring his team-leading 12th goal of the season and increasing his total to a team-high 28 points (12 goals, 4 assists).
- With his 28 total points and 12 goals, Brown set a new single-season program record for both points and goals, surpassing the previous mark held by Danny Stoker.
- In goal, Shehadeh made four saves to secure his 12th victory of the season.
- The Knights outshot the Redhawks 21–9 and held an 8–5 advantage in shots on goal.
Post Match Quote:
Head Coach
Frank Vertullo:
"Today was a very special day. This group of seniors are the most decorated in our program's history. They have elevated this program to unparalleled success. To clinch our 2nd Regular Season Conference Championship in a row on Senior Day makes it that much more special. This group will always hold a special place in my heart, and I hope we can continue this success into the conference playoffs and beyond."
NEXT MATCH
Head coach
Frank Vertullo and the Knights enter the ECC tournament as Regular Season Champions and the #1 seed! More details on game times and matchups will be coming soon.
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).
