Early scoring and one-sided second-half dominance all came to a draw once the final buzzer sounded between the Quinnipiac Bobcats and the Rider Broncs. The final score ended 1-1.
The Rider Broncos came into the game as one of the top defenses in the country. The Bobcats looked like they were in a world of hurt after dropping a 3-0 loss to Bryant on Tuesday afternoon.
The Broncos goalkeeper, Adam Salama, came off of back-to-back weeks of winning the MAAC Defensive Player of the Week. Salama had a 0.57 goals against average coming into the game. Salama was accompanied by four shutouts to add to his first year at Rider after transferring from Ottawa University in Arizona.
As the game began, it was back and forth for either side. The game consisted of a lot of turnovers on the ball, but in the 23rd minute, the opening goal came from No. 23 for the Bobcats, Dario Cavada.
Deep in Rider’s defensive third, Quinnipiac’s closing gaps and putting two players on the ball as soon as they lost it, lead to the opening goal.
First-year Fransico Ferreria put a crossing ball on the ground on the baseline to the top of the box to find Brage Aasen. The preseason MAAC Player of the Year left it off for Tomas Sevecula who then found Cavada with the back post wide open and rifled the ball into the back of the net.
On paper, that was all of the success the Bobcats would have. For head coach Eric Da Costa, the second half was what he expected from his team later in the year.
“We’re playing to be in a position to play a game when the weather’s really crappy,” Da Costa said after the game. “…all of that stuff that you know college soccer shouldn’t be played in, but that’s the most important time of the year.”
Four minutes later, Rider was applying their own pressure. That pressure led to a poor pass from Ferreira and found the foot of Broncs forward Babacar Dien.
Dien was off the races behind the defense and into a one-on-one with goalkeeper Karl Netzell with Pinto just strides behind. Dien found Netzell’s five-hole and buried the shot to bring the game back to even.
Going into halftime, Da Costa knew that his team still had another gear to hit, but didn’t go to extreme measures to get his team to that point.
“I went inside and flipped a couple of tables,” Da Costa jokingly said. “We just needed to be composed and stay calm on the ball and keep it.”
The simple, clear message propelled the Bobcats to a complete turnaround, but still could not find the back of the net. Multiple chances in the final third were found thanks to vertical, penetrating passes from the midfield.
The theme of not playing a complete game has been a consistent one for Quinnipiac but needs to be broken down into small increments.
“Soccer is such a cyclical game,” Da Costa said. “We look at it in 15-minute periods. We just have to try to impose ourselves on the game a little bit more and a little bit quicker.”
With the draw, the Bobcats have yet to win a game since Sept. 9 against Lasalle when they won 3-0.
“We know we had some good results during that span,” Da Costa said. “We had some ones that we wished we had back, but none of that matters anymore.”
Quinnipiac now has a week off to regroup as they go up against the Iona Gaels on the road. That game will be a rematch of last year’s MAAC Championship game that ended in favor of the Bobcats, 3-2 to win their second MAAC championship in program history.
