Hamden, CT – Quinnipiac battled to a scoreless draw with the Rhode Island Rams in their first match of the season on Thursday.
Physical play defined the afternoon. Both teams reached double-digit foul numbers and six total yellow cards were issued in the match. URI’s starting goalkeeper Edu Rodriguez received a red card in the 41st minute after crashing into Quinnipiac’s Jason Budhai in the box, picking up the red for “denial of a clear goal-scoring opportunity,” according to the official.
But even dealing with backup goalie Nate DiLorento and playing a man up due to the red card, Quinnipiac failed to cash in on any offensive opportunities.
“I thought [Rhode Island] defended well and made us answer some questions, especially in the transition,” said head coach Eric Da Costa. “But it was more us not finding the right spaces and not being clinical enough.”
Part of Quinnipiac’s offensive struggles stemmed from the learning pains of being a new group. Six players made their Bobcat debuts in the game – Gustaf Rosengren, Dario Cavada, Henri Ernst, Lucas Beredes, Francisco Ferriera and Noe Cabezas – with Da Costa saying that the team is still trying to find its chemistry.
“All growth is good growth, so even the mistakes we made are important,” Da Costa said. “I think we learn more from those than anything else.”
The biggest star for the Bobcats was undoubtedly goalkeeper Karl Netzel. The sophomore Swede kicked off his season strong, keeping the Rams off the board with six saves in net.
Netzel single-handedly kept the game tied within inches when – in the 67th minute – a right-side shot from URI’s Kevin Castaneda came extremely close to the goal line and Rhode Island believed that they had scored a go-ahead goal. However, Netzel had managed to barely corral the ball and the call went the Bobcats’ way, sparking outrage on the Rams’ sideline.
“Not gonna lie… I think it was in,” Netzel said. “But it’s up to the refs. And I thought it was out [of bounds on the previous play] before so maybe two wrongs make it right.”
“As a goalkeeper you have to let it go… leave it where it was and move on” he added.
Other than Netzel, Budhai, now a fifth-year, made his impact known despite just 35 minutes on the pitch. Budhai was the only Bobcat to put a shot on goal the entire game and both he and Cabezas were the only players to take multiple shots in the match.
Postgame, Da Costa found a way to put a positive spin on the match.
“I think we had opportunities to learn a lot of things today,” Da Costa said. “I often tell our guys ‘We either win, or we learn’ and the more we learn the more we grow… we want to continue to forge our identity,”
The Bobcats will next take on Boston College at home on Monday.
