By Andy Landolfi, QBSN Staff Writer
It was easy as one, two, three.
The Quinnipiac Bobcats (10-5-2, 8-1-1 NEC) netted three goals in their season finale against NEC rival Farleigh Dickinson University (9-5-4, 6-1-3 NEC) to defeat the Knights 3-0. With the win, the Bobcat’s clinched the NEC regular season crown for the first time in program history and will host the NEC playoffs next Friday.
Senior William Cavallo (Londonderry, N.H.) scored the go-ahead-goal for the Bobcats in the 29th minute on a diving header that came off of a Philip Suprise (Milwaukee, Wisc.) cross. The goal was the first against Fairleigh Dickinson University in 654 minutes of play.
The floodgates were opened.
The Bobcats struck again in the 41st minute of action when Suprise beat Fairleigh Dickinson goalkeeper Jacob Lissek to a 50-50 ball. He then volleyed the ball into the corner of the empty net.
The Bobcats final goal came in the 81st minute of the game when Cavallo tallied his second goal of the day.
“You always want to score,” Cavallo said. “You got to have that knack for the goal, and if you’re in the right place at the right time, you get it, and today I got lucky enough to get two.”
The Bobcats’ defensive line, lead by goalkeeper Borja Angoitia (Bilboa, Spain), recorded their fifth shutout of the year. It was also the fourth shut out in five games.
“The beginning of the season it was a little slow,” Angoitia said. “And now we just stepped up.”
The Bobcats’ return to the playoffs will be their first since 2009. Only a handful of players on the current team were a part of the Bobcat’s last playoff run.
“Coming in as a freshman you really take it for granted,’’ Suprise said. “Then after you struggle for two years trying to get back to the NEC tournament, and everything finally clicking together, it feels really good.”
The Bobcats will host NEC fourth-seeded foe Saint Francis University Friday at the Quinnipiac soccer field in front of the Bobcat fans.
“They (the fans) have been fantastic all year,” head coach Eric Da Costa said. “It’s the first time in a long, long time that we have had this type of fan support, and we really appreciate it.”
