The Quinnipiac Bobcats men’s soccer team (6-4-2, 3-0-1 MAAC) took on the Monmouth Hawks (6-2-3, 2-0-2 MAAC) in a rematch of last year’s MAAC championship game. Both teams came into today looking to build on their streaks of success, and both squads give it a good run. Quinnipiac and Monmouth remain as the only unbeaten teams in MAAC play.
Both teams came out of the gate with high energy, but neither side managed to keep possession for long. Monmouth had some potential scoring chances on the top of the 18, but danced with the ball for too long and the Bobcat’s defenders were able to clear the ball. Quinnipiac got their own chance on a free kick from sophomore James Doig on the left side of the box, but it didn’t amount to anything.
The first real chance came about 15 minutes into the match. Monmouth’s forwards put together a pretty display of passing that wound up with the ball in the back of the net, but the nearside official called it off for offsides. Quinnipiac countered with breakaway chance, but senior Raphael Carvalho pushed it wide left of the net.
The pace slowed as the game progressed, and both teams appeared to adopt more of a short and methodical style of play opposed to the run-and-gun style that they started with. The back lines for the Bobcats and Hawks spoiled every ball that they saw, respectively led by junior Nick Lasewicz and Emmanuel Senyah Agyemang.
The Bobcats were a foot away from a goal as time in the first half winded down, but they came up just shy. Bobcat senior defender Ashton Pett streaked up the right side of the field and sent a cross over the middle to Carvalho, who placed a good head on the ball. Monmouth goalkeeper Eric Klenofsky positioned himself perfectly and snagged the header before it could do any damage, and the first half ended without a score on the board.
Monmouth attacked early in the second half; relentlessly bombarding the Bobcats defense with a flurry of crosses and strikes. A save from Angoitia and the defense of junior Tobias Esche stalled each chance that Monmouth created. Esche managed to clear a handful of crosses with his feet, chest and head, and played a huge role in keeping the game locked up at zero.
Unlike Monmouth, Quinnipiac wasn’t able to build up a strong flow of offense. They tried and failed multiple times to send the ball to Baker through the air, but Agyemang continuously outmatched him. It wasn’t until the Bobcats started playing the ball through on the ground that they put a shot on net.
Despite being a defender, Esche played up on the attack and nearly put a goal in the back of the net. It was deflected towards the right side where Pett picked it up. He rifled a shot towards Klenofsky but it went wide left, and the tie remained with 10 minutes left on the clock.
With under a minute to go, the Hawks earned a corner kick that provided Angoitia with his biggest challenge of the night. The corner was headed for the top of the net but the senior keeper elevated and punched the ball towards the 18. It was cleared away amidst the mob of players and regulation concluded.
Quinnipiac came out strong in extra time, and got a quick shot on net by Doig. Three minutes of game time went by and neither time made much of an effort to move the ball. Agyemang eventually played a cross through the air to Dan Pizzimenti, who flicked it onwards to his streaking forward. He played a ball in, but Angoitia steered it away.
Quinnipiac began their most serious attack of extra time with two minutes to go, and earned a corner with 45 seconds left. The threat went unanswered however, and the first period of extra time came to a halt.
The first five minutes of the second period passed with little action other than a wasted corner kick from each side, and the game would remain scoreless.
Freshmen Bobcat midfielder John-John Diaz used great footwork to generate a scoring chance but it was to no avail. The game would end in a 0-0 draw.
The Bobcats are at home again on Wednesday against Manhattan, who is currently in last place in the MAAC.
