NASHVILLE, TENN. - The Queens University of Charlotte men's soccer team is set to compete in their first-ever ASUN Tournament on Saturday night in Nashville, Tennessee. The Royals will kickoff against Central Arkansas at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN Plus. The winner of the Queens-Central Arkansas contest will then take on Lipscomb that Monday with the opportunity to compete in the ASUN Championship the following weekend. The Royals enter the tournament as the 4-seed in the ASUN as they climbed the standings thanks to three consecutive conference wins to finish the regular season. In the only matchup between the Royals and the Bears this season, Central Arkansas was victorious at home by a final score of 6-2. 
 
Royals Regular Season Recap
During the regular season, Queens finished with a 3-4 record and nine points during conference play while also holding a 5-9-2 overall record. The final three conference matches each went the Royals way with wins over Jacksonville, North Florida, and Florida Gulf Coast.
 
Over the final three-game stretch, Michel Feldman emerged as a dominant offensive player for the Royals. In the 5-1 victory over Jacksonville, Feldman recorded a hat trick as well as an assist for a six-point performance. Each of the three goals for Feldman occurred in the second half and he followed it up with a three-point performance with a goal and assist in a non-conference match against Virginia Tech four days later. The offensive dominance did not stop there for Feldman as he scored a goal in each of the final two conference matches including the only goal in a 1-0 victory over North Florida.
 
On the goalkeeping side, freshman Evan Morris emerged during conference play. Morris is a local product as he attended Nations Ford High School in Fort Mill, South Carolina, and started in five of the seven conference matches for the Royals. Morris recorded a shutout in the 1-0 victory over North Florida with seven saves. During conference play, the Royals were 3-2-0 when Morris was in goal as he allowed only seven goals in 67 shots faced with a 0.708 save percentage.
 
Other Royals who have guided the squad this season include defensive standout Samuel Idinge, forward Ciro Bourlot Jaeggi, and defender Oskar Wolf. Idinge played the most minutes of any player in the ASUN. Wolf won ASUN Defensive Player of the Week earlier this season following the 5-1 victory over Jacksonville in which he played all 90 minutes and scored a goal with three shot attempts and two on goal.
 
Freshman Lauri Kesti has also emerged as an offensive threat in the latter half of conference play. The Finland native scored a goal in his first career start against Jacksonville and added an assist in the victory over North Florida. Kesti played in more than 60 minutes in each of the three conference victories for the Royals as well.
 
Scouting Central Arkansas
For the Bears, Central Arkansas finished with eight regular season points in conference play with a 2-2-3 overall record which was good for fifth in the conference directly behind Queens. Along with the 6-2 victory over Queens, the Bears defeated North Florida 3-0 in their final regular season game to secure a berth in the ASUN tournament. In the victory over the Ospreys, Devonte Richards recorded five points with two goals and an assist in 72 minutes played while Pietro Fontana added a goal of his own. Goalkeeper Javier Ramirez recorded the shutout with five saves in 90 minutes.
 
In the 6-2 victory over Queens, Pietro Fontana thoroughly dominated as he scored four goals with eight shot attempts and six on goal in only 50 minutes played. Ignacio Bellina and Tajio James added to the offense with a goal each as James also added two assists in the match for a four-point performance with five shots and four shots on goal. The goal for Bellina was his only shot of the match as he only played 23 minutes off the bench. Goalkeeper Connor Wachtel came off the bench and allowed only one goal in 83 minutes played.
 
Pietro Fontana has been the most dominant offensive player for the Bears as he has recorded 18 points with eight goals and two assists in conference play alone. Overall, Fontana scored 12 goals for the Bears in 15 games and 14 starts which includes the four-goal performance against the Royals. Fontana also recorded a multi-goal performance in a non-conference match against Air Force earlier in the season in a 2-1 victory over the Falcons. Fontana also recorded at least one point in every conference game played except one in a match against Lipscomb.
 
Along with Fontana, Devonte Richards had a strong offensive season with 10 points in conference play from three goals and four assists. Along with the two-goal performance against North Florida, Richards also recorded a goal against Lipscomb in a 6-3 defeat. Offensively, the Bears scored 1.53 goals per game throughout the regular season.
 
On the goalkeeping side, the Bears rotated through four keepers throughout conference play with three recording at least one start. Javier Ramirez had the most success with a 0.944 save percentage on 45 shots faced. Ramirez was 1-0-1 in two starts with four games played as he recorded 17 saves with only one goal allowed. Connor Wachtel recorded three starts for the Bears with a 1-1-1 record. Wachtel allowed six goals with eight saves and has not played since September 30th against Lipscomb.
 
Scouting Lipscomb
If the Royals prove victorious on Saturday against Central Arkansas, they will take on the Lipscomb Bisons on Monday at 8:00 PM EST. Lipscomb finished the regular season with a 6-1 record in conference play and an 8-3-4 overall record. Additionally, the Bisons finished 6-1-1 at home which included a 2-1 victory over St. Louis who was ranked 15th in the country at the moment. In conference play, Lipscomb's only defeat happened at the hands of Stetson 3-1 in DeLand, Florida.
 
In the 4-1 win over Queens, four different Lipscomb players scored but Tyrese Spicer dominated the possession game with six shots and three on goal. Additionally, Ploutarchos Alonefti scored a goal with two assists as well as two shots on goal in 83 minutes. Nick Dang also scored a goal and played all 90 minutes in the contest.
 
In conference play, three Bisons recorded double-digit points as Tyrese Spicer led the way with 13 points from six goals and one assist. During the regular season, Spicer scored a goal in 11 of the 13 games he played in and put in a two-goal performance against Central Arkansas earlier in the season. Spicer also scored three game-winning goals during conference play and led the Bisons with 29 regular season points.
 
Along with Spicer, Ploutarchos Alonefti and Javanne Smith also recorded 10 points during conference play. Alonefti scored two goals with six assists while Smith recorded four goals with two assists. Alonefti also recorded a point in every conference match except the match against Stetson as he scored a goal against Queens and Florida Gulf Coast. Additionally, Smith scored two goals against Central Arkansas as well as one against North Florida and Jacksonville.
 
On the goalkeeping side, the Bisons relied on only one goalkeeper during conference play in Juan Carlos Rodriguez. During conference play, Rodriguez faced 99 shots and allowed only 11 goals with 35 saves. Overall, Rodriguez started in 14 games with one shutout and an 8-3-3 record. He allowed 29 goals on 180 shots faced with 53 saves on the season.
 
Tournament Schedule
For the Royals, they begin ASUN tournament play with a match on Saturday, November 4th at 7:00 PM EST against Central Arkansas in Nashville, Tennessee.
 
Following that, the winner of Central Arkansas-Queens faces Lipscomb on Monday, November 6th at 8:00 PM EST. The championship game will occur that following Saturday. For more information about the ASUN Men's Soccer Championships, visit the ASUN website.
 
Social Media
Be sure to follow the Queens Men's Soccer team on Twitter and Instagram throughout the 2023 season to get the latest news and updates. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tik Tok to keep up with all the Royals in action.