The Quinnipiac Bobcats men’s soccer team was unable to take down the Iona Gaels on Sunday as they lost by a score of 2-1. This loss drops them to 6-5-3 on the season and 4-2-1 in conference play.

The game was bound to have lots of intensity, with both teams being near the top of the MAAC standings. In the first half, neither team was able to put the ball in the net. In the 29th minute, goalkeeper Jared Mazzola made a big stop to keep the score even. At the half, both teams looked to come out strong and obtain the momentum.

The Gaels did that by striking first in the 47th minute. Off of a free kick, Mazzola made the save, but the rebound was put in by Najim Romero. The Bobcats were unable to answer back, when just a minute later the Gaels scored again. Eimantas Lotuzys played a crossed in and Mauro Bravo finished it to give Iona a 2-0 lead.

After two demoralizing goals, Quinnipiac answered positively. They began dominating the rest of the second half, spending lots of time in the attacking third, and getting more shots off from in close. Then, in the 72nd minute, Brage Aasen took the ball up the field, cutting through several defenders before sending a long through ball to Jason Budhai, who sent in a nice pass to Eamon Whelan for the goal.

Ten minutes later, the Gaels were down to ten men as Romero committed a hard foul and received a red card, adding to the already intense atmosphere. This only increased Quinnipiac’s chances, as they kept chipping away at the Gaels. In the 87th minute, it looked as if Henry Weigand had scored, but the goal was called off sending the ecstatic crowd and players into dismay. After several efforts to score in the second half, they were unable to tie the game up at two.

The Bobcats have nothing to be ashamed of in this loss, as they fought back hard after two demoralizing goals against. Head coach Eric Da Costa touched upon the determination of his team after the game.

“The character, the fight, the commitment to get back into the game, to score the second goal in spite of it not being called. It’ll be hard for the boys to sleep tonight, but we take lessons from every game,” Da Costa said.

When asked about what the biggest difference in today’s game was, Da Costa said, “It’s the first goal. The first goal changed the complexion of the game, especially how early it was in the first half.”

They will try and get on the board first on Wednesday when they face Siena away from home.

“It’s not the end of our season, we have more games on the horizon, and hopefully we put ourselves in a position to get into the playoffs.”