PHILADELPHIA, PA. – Returning to non-conference action for a midweek contest the Queens College men's soccer team traveled to Philadelphia for a match-up against the Tigers of Holy Family University Wednesday evening at Tiger Field.
On a night where the Knights offense clicked quickly and often a 1-1 tie would quickly balloon up as three unanswered goals would see the Knights take a 4-1 lead before halftime. A fifth goal just three minutes into resumption would put the Knights towards victory. Despite two late goals from the Tigers, the Knights would earn a 5-3 victory over Holy Family University.
With the win, Queens earned their third straight victory to improve to 3-2-1 on the season.
Match Recap
In one of the highest scoring matches of the season for the Knights, Queens opened the goal tally just three minutes in as junior
Joaquim Johnson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) put a back rebound shot for his first career goal and point to give the Knights an early 1-0 lead.
But the Tigers would tie the game 1-1 in the ninth minute of play off a corner kick as the Knights defense left one Tigers player unmarked.
However the game would remain deadlocked at 1-1 for 10 minutes before sophomore
Harry Cooke (Market Drayton, England) found senior
Leo Pinto (Forest Hills, N.Y.) for the second goal of the match.
Pinto would give the Knights a 2-1 lead with a 24-yard hurler into the top left corner in the 20
th minute of play for his first goal of the season.
With the Knights continuing to press, Queens would earn their first penalty kick of the season, and senior
Adolfo Martinez Paquet (Sevilla, Spain) would step up to the mark in the 30
th minute of play and give the Knights a 3-1 lead.
As the Knights fended off two scoring opportunities from the Tigers, freshman
Tommy Gunn (Buenos Aires, Argentina) would head home a long ball from junior
Nicolas Cifuentes Diaz (East Hampton, N.Y.) in the 38
th minute of play.
Earning another set piece just before halftime, Johnson's opportunity for his first career brace would have to wait as the Tigers goalie made a timely save.
But the Knights would go into halftime with a 4-1 lead. The four first-half goals are the most in a half since the 2019 season when the Knights tallied five in the first half against the District of Colombia on October 16, 2019.
Queens would waste no time putting the game away just three minutes into the second half as Gunn recorded his first career brace off a cross from junior
Jose Mendez (Queens, N.Y.) in the 48
th minute of play for a 5-1 commanding.
Leading 5-1, the Tigers would attempt a comeback as they outshot Queens 11-7 in the second half, but five saves in between the nets from junior goalie
Juan Cruz Ladino (Cali, Colombia) and sophomore
Jake Balme (Sheffield, England) would ensure the Knights earned their third straight victory of the year.
Match Highlights
- Gunn recorded his first career brace off the bench and first career game-winner.
- While Johnson notched his first career goal, Pinto and Paquet tallied their first goal of the season.
- The Knights tallied five assists led by Paquet's third straight assist, senior Nicholas Tagios (East Williston, N.Y.), Cooke, Diaz, and Mendez.
- In goal, Ladino recorded four saves, while off the bench Balme made two saves.
- Ladino improves his overall record to 3-0 on the season.
- The Tigers held a 19-14 shots margin and 10-8 shots on goal margin.
- Queens recorded a season-high eight shots on goals
Next Match
Head coach
Frank Vertullo and the Knights return to East Coast Conference play Saturday (Sept. 23) evening as they welcome defending champions Mavericks of Mercy University to town. Kickoff is set for 7:30 pm.
Follow the Knights
All home games will be live-streamed on the
ECC Sports Network and fans can follow along on
Live Stats as well.
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).
