FLUSHING, N.Y. – Continuing their homestand, the Queens College men's soccer team welcomed nationally ranked #14 Southern New Hampshire University Penmen to Flushing for a Saturday afternoon non-conference match.
Matching up against their second nationally ranked opponent for the second straight weekend, it would be another physical match which saw a combined 21 fouls and seven yellow cards raised.
But it would be two evenly matched teams as both sides tallied 15 shots apiece with the Knights holding a 6-5 advantage on shots on goal.
Queens would remain on the attack in the first half as they held majority of the possession recording four shots on goal in the first half.
But the Penmen goalie Preston Neal would continue to keep the Knights off the scoreboard.
After a yellow card was assessed to the Penmen in the 32
nd minute of play, Queens would earn a set piece from 19 yards out.
It would be a perfectly executed free kick from sophomore
Harry Cooke (Market Drayton, England) as the English native found the top left corner, but a timely flying stop from Neal would deny the Knights from getting on the scoreboard.
While in the 37
th minute on the counterattack, Cooke's shot would get blocked as the Penmen continued to deny the home side from scoring before both sides went into halftime scoreless.
In the second half, the Penmen would open as the aggressor as they tallied two shots in the opening three minutes. But sophomore goalie
Jake Balme (Sheffield, England) would deny the Penmen.
Looking to counterattack, senior
Nicolas Tagios's (East Williston, N.Y.) shot on goal was denied by a diving save from the Penmen goalie before an offside was called denying the Knights a rebound shot.
The Penmen would take a 1-0 lead in the 54
th minute after Balme made the first save, but the Penmen would strike on the rebound shot.
Queens wasted no time in attacking in the restarted as they searched for the equalizer with Cooke recording two shots.
After the Knights earned a corner kick in the 60
th minute, sophomore
Kevin Johnson's (Oakdale, N.Y.) shot would sail out top.
The Knights would tally three shots in the final 20 minutes of play but would be unlucky to find the back of the net as they fell 1-0 to the #14 team in the nation.
Match Highlights
- Cooke recorded a team-high six shots with three shots on goal.
- While the trio of senior Leo Pinto (Forest Hills, N.Y.), Tagios, and rookie Jason Udo (Bronx, N.Y.) each tallied a shot on goal.
- Balme made four saves in the net.
- Freshman Andrew Johnson (Oakdale, N.Y.) earned his first career start.
Next Match
Head coach
Frank Vertullo and the Knights conclude the homestand on Wednesday (Sept. 13) afternoon as they welcome NE10 member Southern Connecticut State University Owls
(1-1-1 Overall) to Knights Field. 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).
