Fresh off its first victory of the 2018 season, the Quinnipiac Bobcats men’s soccer team (1-4-1, 0-0-0 MAAC) concludes its non-conference schedule with a Friday afternoon matchup at home against the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils (0-5-0, 0-0-0 NEC). The Bobcats defeated Albany last Saturday 2-1 in an overtime thriller, and travelled to Easton, P.A. on Tuesday only to have their game with Lafayette cancelled due to inclement weather. The Blue Devils, winless in their last eight contests dating back to the 2017 season, allowed five goals to Massachusetts on Saturday.
Players to Watch
Quinnipiac – Romain Daniellou
The Bobcats entered their game with Albany last weekend having scored four goals in five games, all coming off the boot of junior forward Eamon Whelan. That’s all fine and dandy, but it’s extremely difficult for a team to find long-term success with only one threat on offense. It was Daniellou who broke the ice with a score right before the half against the Great Danes, and if Quinnipiac wants to spread the scoring load heading into conference play, perhaps the junior from France will be up to the task. Daniellou scored six goals and assisted on 12 more in two seasons for Southern New Hampshire before transferring to QU this past summer.
CCSU – Louis Beddouri
Daniellou’s compatriot, a senior from Bordeaux, France, scored both of the Blue Devils’ goals in the loss to Massachusetts. It appears as though Beddouri is beginning to hit his stride after tying for the team lead with five scores last season, and with the next three highest goal scorers on that team graduating or transferring, Beddouri has a clear path to becoming the most potent threat on this CCSU offense. The rest of the NEC certainly must take note, as he’s already garnered a pair of All-Conference second team nods in his career.
The Bobcats and Blue Devils, squaring off for the first time since 2012, kick off at 4 p.m. at the Quinnipiac soccer field. The game can be streamed live at QuinnipiacBobcats.com with Jonathan Banks and Jacob Resnick on the call, and additional updates can be found on Twitter at @QU_MSOC, @QBSN, @jonathanbanks8_, and @Jacob_Resnick.
