The Quinnipiac Bobcats looked to capture their third straight victory against conference rival, the Sacred Heart Pioneers, on Wednesday. The Bobcats entered the game 3-5-1 on the season and were coming off back-to-back clean sheets from senior goalkeeper Nick Cardonna.
However, the shutout streak came to an end early in the game as the Pioneers struck first just four minutes into the contest. Junior midfielder Danny Istambouli walked right into the box on a five-on-three attack for Sacred Heart, with one quick cut to the middle. Istambouli picked his spot and fired a shot to the right side of the net past a diving Cardonna.
Quinnipiac would swing momentum back in their favor for the majority of the first half after the goal. Yet despite seven shots and two corner kicks, the Bobcats still couldn’t manage to get a shot on target in the first half.
After capitalizing on their first shot of the game, Sacred Heart played a sound defensive game in the remainder of the first half and even had a couple more chances of their own. In the final minute of the first half, a Pioneer’s shot deflected off of Bobcats junior defenseman Taiga Matoba and rolled just inside the far left post. Unfortunately for Sacred Heart, they were offside on the play, and the goal was called off.
Entering the second half still trailing 1-0, Quinnipiac couldn’t establish any possession or real scoring chances early on in the second half. Instead, Sacred Heart tacked on another goal again in the first 10 minutes of the half. This time it was sophomore forward Ivan Morcillo, an academy product from the Spanish La Liga club Rayo Vallecano, who bested Cardonna for the second goal of the game. The Bobcats were held scoreless for the final few minutes of the game and spent a decent percentage of it in their own half defending the Pioneers.
In the final 10 minutes of the contest, after a sliding collision between two players that left both sidelines unsatisfied with the officials’ call, Quinnipiac junior forward Benjamin Telle was given a red card and sent off the field. The Bobcats, playing down a man, conceded their third of the game as senior forward Zach Lorenz lifted a ball from the box just over the outstretched hand of Cardonna, just inside the top left post.
That would round out the scoring for the day and put the game to rest. Quinnipiac falls to 1-2 in MAAC play while being outscored 8-4 in that stretch. The Bobcats will have a short break before heading up to Buffalo to take on Canisius for the next conference match-up on Oct. 11.
