The Quinnipiac Bobcats men’s soccer team held its home opener against No. 18 Loyola College (Md.) on Monday, Sept.7. With a big crowd at hand, the Bobcats and the Greyhounds played to a stalemate, a 0-0 tie, after 90 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods.
However, the Bobcats suffered two injuries, losing senior midfielder Fabricio Silva with an apparent leg injury and freshman forward Phil Suprise with a head injury.
Despite that, Quinnipiac head coach Eric Da Costa was pleased with his team’s effort.
“Based on the fact that we’ve come into the pre-season late, to take this team into overtime and really be the better of the two teams and have opportunities to win the game is definitely something to build off of,” he said.
Quinnipiac earned its second tie in as many games played this season, and Loyola improved its record to 1-1-1.
“We maintained possession very well,” Da Costa said. “We were able to keep the ball and really expose spaces that they vacated in order to move them around the field and keep them off balance.”
Quinnipiac had its best chance to score late in the second half on a jump kick by Nick Pelicaen, but it sailed just wide past the goal.
With a mere 30 seconds on the clock in the first overtime, Danny Ankrah gave the Greyhounds their best chance at a goal. His shot caromed off the crossbar past goalkeeper Freddy Hall’s dive and away from the net.
Both defenses continued to make stops into the second overtime, but neither team could find the back of the net.
The Bobcats distributed the ball nicely around the field in the first half, but the Greyhounds kept the scoreboard clean of any goals. Quinnipiac’s defense matched Loyola’s, deflecting and blocking any chances for Loyola to score.
“We had opportunities to score,” Da Costa said. “We just needed to sharpen it up and capitalize, and try to finish our chances more efficiently.”
Whether it was by missed shots or excellent defense, the shots from both teams just kept missing the net. Midway through the first half, Bobcat defenseman Shane Recklet saved a Loyola goal with a sliding block to maintain the scoreless tie. A few minutes later, the Greyhounds received another opportunity, but the shot was blocked by Hall.
In the second half, Loyola came out firing. They took the first shot on goal but it was blocked by Hall once again. Both teams continued to batter the opposing goalkeeper with an array of shots – none of which hit the back of the net.
The Bobcats had a good chance to score almost 12 minutes into the second half when forward Phil Suprise’s shot missed the goalpost by a few feet. Minutes later, Loyola finally netted a shot, but it was nullified by a foul on Loyola.
In addition to Quinnipiac’s two injuries, Loyola’s Tennant McVea was playing with his head bandaged after he was apparently cleated on the head.
