Queens, N.Y. - Anyone who came to the Knights’ soccer field on Thursday afternoon noticed right away that something unusual was going to happen as both the Queens College women’s soccer team and the Felician College team had their assistant coaches stepping in as head coaches for the match.  Also, the Knights played the game without leading scorer, Lorena Russi, who was sidelined with an injury.  The team needed someone to step up and score a goal. Well, the improbable happened, as the Knights pulled off a 1-0, overtime win when Monica Lupo connected with Kristina Gabrielsen for the game’s lone marker.

The first half of play saw the Knights control the action on the offensive end.  They managed just three shots in the first 45 minutes, but held the Golden Falcons without a shot at the break.  QC controlled the midfield early on as Bernadette Wyndham, Rebecca LaPorte and Bridget Gleason halted the Felician attack and played the ball forward into the offensive zone.  The combination of Lisa Cassata, Gena Koutsounadis and Alexandra Troiano on defense, made Mersina Onesto’s job effortless in goal.

The second half began with the Knights pushing the action on the offensive end.  Barely eight minutes into action, Queens dumped the ball into the Felician box and Erika Riera put a head on it and nearly found the back of the net as the ball grazed the crossbar and went out of bounds.

The Knights had another scoring chance in the 71^st minute as Nicolette Scrozzo took the ball down the left side and blasted a shot on goal that forced Felician keeper, Julia Sheridan, to make a save on to keep the game scoreless.

Felician responded quickly however, and in the next 20 seconds, they had their best scoring chance of the game as Macki Groves put a shot on goal that forced Onesto to go to her left to stop.  The score was nil-nil at the end of regulation and overtime was needed to determine a winner.

Two minutes into the extra session, Scrozzo nearly won the game for the Knights as she took a Rebecca Laporte pass and forced Sheridan to make another of her six saves.  Queens’ persistence was rewarded in the 97^th minute when Monica Lupo took possession of the ball in the ride side of the goalie box. She flicked the ball across the penalty area to Gabrielsen, who was heading to the goal.  Gabrielsen them shot the ball back inside the far post for the goal.  Queens won, 1-0 and improved to 5-3 on the season.

The Knights outshot Felician, 14-1 and took four corner kicks without surrendering any to the Golden Falcons.  The back line and Onesto combined for the fourth shutout of the season for the team.

The Queens College women’s soccer team returns to action on Saturday, September 28, when they host Molloy College.   The kickoff is scheduled for 11:30 AM.

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