Queensboro FC II found the back of the net nine times as they cruised past Pathfinder FC over the weekend. For the first-year club, the blowout win set a club record as they picked up a fifth consecutive victory in the USL Academy League.
Six different players scored for Queensboro, with Damien Barker’s four goals leading the way. On the season, QBFC has found the net 30 times, still 19 goals fewer than AC Connecticut.
It was Barker who opened the scoring in the 7th minute, picking the pocket of the Pathfinder defense and slotting the ball home. After a header by defender Esteban Espinosa doubled the lead ten minutes later, Barker scored his second to give Queensboro a 3-0 lead. Once again it was pressure from the striker to steal the ball and capitalize on the turnover.
A penalty made it 4-0 to the visitors at the half hour mark, scored by midfielder Christian LoGrasso, who recently signed to join Spanish second division club AD Alcorcón. A second penalty from Nikolas Vidal increased the lead before Barker completed a first half hat trick for a 6-0 lead at the break.
Queensboro FC struck another three times in the last half hour of the match. Piero Elias, who assisted Barker’s third goal, got himself on the scoresheet in the 62nd minute before setting up Barker’s fourth and final goal for the eighth of the match, bringing his season total to a team-leading 7 goals. Matthews Tejeda put the finishing touches on the blowout, a shot from outside the box.
QBFC returned to Queens with the second largest margin of victory in the Northeast Division, just shy of AC Connecticut’s 10-0 thrashing of Pathfinder. Now with eight wins on the season, QBFC are still on track to pull level on points with ACC for 1st in the Northeast division with four matches still to come. While Queensboro won both matches between the two, ACC’s solid 49 goals keeps them ahead for the time being, though they have no matches left to play.
Next weekend Queensboro FC takes on Ironbound SC in a vital match between 2nd and 3rd in the division. They’ll kick off at 6:30pm at Deborah and John Danzi Stadium in East Patchogue, Long Island, with the final four home games of the season relocated from Mitchell Field. At least two wins and a draw in their last four matches will see them overtake ACC and win the division.
(Statistics were corrected to account for two part-time USL Academy League teams, the Boston Bolts and Long Island Rough Riders. Goals and points from these games do not count towards the divisional standings. Saturday’s game was also rescheduled from 10am to 6:30pm.)
