By Kevin Noonan, QBSN Staff Writer
The Quinnipiac Bobcats shot barrage on Bobby Thalman was not enough as he saved all 10 shots on goal the Bobcats had as Yale beat Quinnipiac 1-0 in another installment of the Elm City Rivalry.
“We tested him a few times there and he made at least three big time saves to keep the team in the game,” said head coach Eric Da Costa.
The Bulldogs came into the game with a record of 0-3-1, and had not even scored a goal coming into Friday’s contest. With the win, Yale improves to 1-3-1.
Quinnipiac and Yale had possessions go back and forth throughout the first half before Yale made it 1-0 in the first half.
Scott Armbrust put Yale on the board 17:41 into the game with the first goal of the season for the Bulldogs. He received a pass from Avery Schwartz on the flank and drilled a shot off the bottom of the crossbar, dropping in the back of the net.
The Bobcats remain winless all-time against Yale, dropping to 0-9-2 and an overall record of 2-3 this season.
“It’s a game that’s reflected in our win-loss column at the end of the year but when we look at the NEC standings everyone’s still at 0 points,” said Da Costa.
Yale was outshot by Quinnipiac in the game 22-13, but capitalized on the one opportunity that mattered the most. Thalman stopped many great shots by the Bobcats, especially down the stretch.
Quinnipiac also held the advantage in corner kicks 5-2.
Will Daniels (Clackamas, Ore.) had two great scoring opportunities with about 38 minutes remaining the second half when he ripped a shot from the top of the box and it went off the hands of Thalman. Daniels then one-timed a looping corner kick from Robbie McLarney (Londonderry, Mass.) but it sailed just wide of the net.
“The second 45 I thought was much better, much improved. We kept them in their end the majority of the time and we put some more quality attempts on goal than we did in the first 45,” said Da Costa.
Phil Suprise (Milwaukee, WI) had scored four goals in the past two games for the Bobcats coming into the game. He delivered a great long ball for Ola Ogunjobi (London, England), and the shot went right into the hands of Thalman.
Perhaps the greatest scoring opportunity for Quinnipiac came with about 15 minutes in the game when Suprise had a nice touch pass for Ogunjobi, whose shot went off the legs of Yale’s Goalkeeper. Daniels corralled the rebound and ripped another one-timer, which was deflected once again and pounced on by Thalman in net.
The Bobcats hit the road on Wednesday for another non-conference matchup against the University of Hartford at 7:00 p.m. They then return home next Saturday for a non-conference matchup against the Vermont Catamounts at 2 p.m.
