The Quinnipiac Bobcats defeated the Siena Saints 1-0 on Saturday, Oct. 25 and moved to 3-4-0 in conference play thanks to the lone goal that belonged to captain Alex Miller early in the second half.
After a season shrouded in injuries and setbacks for the senior captain, the matchup marked his first full game back in the lineup and starting for the Bobcats at midfield since Sept. 23 against New Haven.
“What he’s battled through, he probably should have been out for the season twice this year,” head coach Eric Da Costa said. “He’s back, and he gets his first game, his first start, and gets the game winner. These are the moments we as coaches wait for, so I’m glad we had the opportunity to give that to him.”
The first half of play gave way to a dominant Siena with the Saints notching eight total shots to the Bobcats’ three.
Heading into the second half of play, it still appeared to be in favor of the Saints. That was until junior midfielder Francisco Ferreira fed a ball across the top of the box to Alex Miller, who quickly ripped it into the low left corner of the net. The ball then ricocheted past Siena’s goaltender, Bennet Glinder off the left post into the back of the net and put Quinnipiac up in the lead.
Defensively, this was one of Quinnipiac’s strongest games yet and the main reason why the Bobcats were able to hold onto their 1-0 lead.
“Defending together as a unit, coming back and transitioning… that was really important,” said senior defender João Pinto. “Everyone was together, everyone was fighting for the same goal.”
“Defense doesn’t mean only defenders,” said Alex Miller. “It’s the attackers defending from everywhere on the field.”
In a season where Da Costa has rotated his goalkeepers constantly, he made the move to start Matthew Pisani ahead of the match, marking the graduate student’s third consecutive start. Although only facing six shots on goal, Pisani was able to hold off the likes of Siena’s Lucas Almeida and Campbell Stalker to maintain a clean sheet.
Looking ahead at their final few games in the season, the win is more important than ever when looking to make that playoff push.
“We are here. We’re here to compete, not only compete but to win,” says Miller. “I hope now that I’m back, I can really bring spirit on the field. I think all the boys are on the same page and from there, we’re going to keep pushing.”
The Bobcats will head on the road to face in-state rivals the 3-1-3 Fairfield Stags on Wednesday, Oct 29 at 7:00 p.m.
