FLUSHING, NY -- It was a rough start to the 2011 soccer season for the Wildcats of Wilmington University, as they suffered a convincing 5-1 defeat at the hands of the host Knights of Queens College in non-conference men’s soccer action on Thursday afternoon.

Both teams were playing in their season opener, and it was the Wildcats who struck first. Sophomore Tom Quaranta connected off a feed from junior Jose Hernandez just twelve minutes into the game. The lead was short lived, as Queens’ Daniel Stoker added two goals over the next ten minutes to give the Knights a 2-1 advantage they would never relinquish.

Stoker would add another just three minutes into the second half to complete the hat trick, and Peter Touros and Santiago Bedoya each tallied goals in the closing ten minutes to put the Wildcats away.

Wilmington’s freshman goalkeeper Spyros Stergiotis notched six saves in goal, while Queens’ Demetrios Touros recorded three stops. The Knights out-shot the Wildcats by a 17-13 margin, while the corner kicks were tied at four apiece.

Following the game, Wilmington dropped to 0-1 to start the season, while Queens improved to 1-0. The Wildcats are right back in action tomorrow afternoon, when the travel to take on the Falcons of Bentley University in a non-conference tilt beginning at 2:00 PM.