By: Taylor Massey, QBSN Staff Writer
A windy day on the Quinnipiac soccer field helped the men’s soccer team blow past Mount St. Mary’s in a 3-0 conference win. Their record advances to 6-5-2 overall and 4-1-1 in conference. The Mountaineers drop to 3-11 overall and 1-6 NEC.
Entering the weekend the Bobcats were caught in a struggle to be one of the top teams in the Northeast Conference. In order to stay on top, they needed the win against the Mountaineers. This keeps them in a three-way tie with Monmouth and Central Connecticut State for second place in the NEC.
They came out strong and 10 minutes into the first half their hard work paid off as they jumped on the board first. Freshman Erik Panzer (Nelson, New Zealand) earned his first career goal to propel the Bobcats into the lead.
“We need everybody to contribute,” head coach Eric Da Costa said when asked about the career firsts. “If you look at all the top teams and teams that end up winning the championship, not only are they stingy defensively, but they get a lot of contributors on the offensive side of the ball as well.”
Sam Nicol (Edinburgh, Scotland) utilized a free kick to cross the ball to Panzer who was in prime position in front of the net to head the ball past Mountaineer goalie Peter Steve. This gave the Bobcats a 1-0 lead entering the second half.
The Bobcats kicked off the second half with a double take. Machel Baker (Spanish Town, Jamaica) recorded his first career goal in the same fashion as Panzer. Baker linked with a corner kick from Hawkeye to head the ball over a reaching Steve.
“When we went two up that eased the tension for the whole team,” Baker said.
Any remaining tension was brushed off even more minutes later. Philip Suprise (Milwaukee, Wisc.) made his first contribution since his goal against Vermont on Sept. 22. Suprise joined a pass from Simon Hinde (Canberra, Australia) and flew down the field on a break-way. He sent a shot quick and low and Steve couldn’t make it to the ground fast enough.
Mount St. Mary’s held off Bobcat attacks throughout the remainder of the second half, despite several close calls. Steve had to remain on his toes to hold the game to three goals.
Although the Bobcats appeared to be losing speed towards the end, Borja Angoitia stood strong in goal. Angoitia made six saves on the day for his second consecutive shutout and third of the season. This was the first time since 2010 that a goalie had back-to-back shutouts.
“I know towards the end there we were under a little bit of pressure,” said Da Costa. “I know [Angoitia] was still focused and wanted to walk away with the shutout more than anybody else.”
Quinnipiac will remain in good positioning for a spot in the playoffs, while the Mountaineers continue to hold up last place.
The Bobcats are on the road for their next two conference match ups. They take on St. Francis (PA) on Friday, Oct. 26 at 3 p.m. and then move on to face Robert Morris on Sunday Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. They will then return home for their final two games against the top teams in the conference.
