FLUSHING, N.Y. – Concluding their homestand on Saturday night, the Queens College men's soccer team welcomed regionally ranked #8 Mercy University to Knights Field for East Coast Conference (ECC) action.
Trailing 1-0 at halftime, the Knights came out strong in the second half, scoring two quick goals courtesy of redshirt-junior defender
Tommy Wagner (East Northport, N.Y.) and junior forward
Miguel Soto Gonzalez (Madrid, Spain). After the Mavericks leveled the match in the 61st minute, redshirt-sophomore goalie
Thanasis Shehadeh (Nicosia, Cyprus) would deliver the game-winning assist as he delivered a long ball for rookie forward
Bradyn Brown (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) to head home the winner. Shehadeh and the Knights' defense held firm in the final minutes to secure a thrilling 3-2 ECC victory.
With the win, Queens improves to 5-1-2 overall and 1-0-1 in ECC play. The victory also marks the Knights' first regular-season win over the Mavericks since 2015 and their first at home since 2014.
MATCH RECAP
Matching up against their second regionally ranked opponent of the week, and third of the season, the Knights came out on the front foot early. In the sixth minute, a long throw-in from Wagner led to a shot on goal by
Harry Cooke (Market Drayton, England), but the Mavericks' goalkeeper came up with a timely save to keep the match scoreless.
After a quiet 10-minute stretch, Mercy broke the deadlock in the 16th minute to take a 1-0 lead.
Following an offside call that halted a Mercy attack, Queens responded with a strong offensive push over the next 15 minutes. The Knights threatened with several chances, but the Mavericks' keeper stayed sharp, denying Brown in the 19th minute and junior forward
Jason Udo (Bronx, N.Y.) in the 28th minute.
Shehadeh would make two crucial saves to keep the deficit at 1-0 as the Knights' offense looked for the equalizer.
Just before halftime, Soto Gonzalez would put the Mavericks' goalie under pressure from 18 yards outs, but once again, the Mercy goalie came up with a save to preserve the Mavericks' lead at the break.
The second half saw a reenergized Knights side waste no time making an impact. After a Mavericks foul in midfield awarded Queens a set piece, rookie defender
Carlos Villa (Medellin, Colombia) delivered a pinpoint cross into the box, where Wagner headed home the equalizer in the 49th minute.
Just two minutes later, the Knights struck again. After Queens defended a Mercy corner, Udo headed a loose ball forward, allowing Soto Gonzalez to sprint past the Mavericks' backline and calmly slot it home for a 2-1 lead in the 51st minute.
Mercy responded with pressure of their own and were awarded a penalty in the 54th minute. But Shehadeh came up huge, making a clutch save to preserve Queens' advantage.
Following two blocked shots and an offside decision against Queens, the Mavericks capitalized on a defensive error in the 61st minute to tie the match at 2-2.
In a tense back-and-forth battle, both defenses stood tall. A dangerous Mercy sequence saw back-to-back shots hit the post before the Knights managed to clear the ball. Moments later, the Mavericks sent a third shot just wide of the target.
On the ensuing counterattack, Brown nearly broke the deadlock with a powerful effort, but the Mavericks' goalkeeper responded with a leaping punch save to keep the score tied.
As Queens continued to attack, and in the 76th minute, they found the breakthrough. From the midfield circle, Shehadeh launched a long ball into the box, where Brown was in the right place at the right time to head home his first career game-winning goal, giving the Knights a 3-2 lead.
From there, Shehadeh and the Knights' defense shut the door, holding Mercy without a shot over the final 14 minutes, as Queens earned a thrilling 3-2 victory, their second win of the week over a regionally ranked opponent.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Brown recorded his team-leading sixth goal and first game-winning goal of the year.
- The rookie extends his points tally to 13 with six goals and one assist.
- Soto Gonzalez recorded his fifth goal of the year and extended his points tally to a team-high 16 with five goals and six assists.
- Wagner recorded his first goal of the year and third of his career.
- Villa recorded his second assist of the year and extended his points tally to four.
- Udo tallied his third assist of the year and extended his points tally to three.
- Shehadeh recorded his second assist of the year and recorded three saves to earn his fifth victory of the year.
- The Knights outshot the Mavericks 16-8, 11-5 shots on goal.
NEXT MATCH
The Knights now begin a two-match ECC road swing, starting in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, October 1, as they take on the defending ECC champions, the University of the District of Columbia Firebirds. Kickoff is set for 2:00 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).
