Philip Suprise found the back of the net three times on Sunday en route to a 3-1 victory for the Quinnipiac men’s soccer team over non-conference opponent Lafayette College.
The hat trick was Suprise’s first career hat trick, and it started out with a goal just 7:48 seconds into the game. Suprise found himself with the ball at the middle of the 18-yard line on what was a broken play. Between two Lafayette defenders, Suprise slid and shot it off the left post and in for a 1-0 lead.
The Bobcat captain doubled his pleasure in the 37th minute as an arrant cross ended up bouncing in front of him. He then beat keeper Nathan McDonald to the ball and headed it in to give Quinnipiac (2-1) a 2-1 lead.
Suprise celebrated once more as he found himself one-on-one with the keeper after a thru ball from Machel Baker. McDonald made a diving attempt at the ball and collided with Suprise, who was able to keep his balance and deked around the keeper, leaving him with an easy strike for his third goal of the game as well as the season.
The Milwaukee native’s family was in attendance for the game and got to witness one of Suprise’s best performances. Suprise said that it helped knowing they were there to watch him.
“My dad has been my coach my whole life,” Suprise said. “He played at one of the highest levels in America. He has played professionally, as well. Just to have him there, I get that extra confidence. He helps me out before the game and helps me with what I need to do. I feel more comfortable (when he is there).”
The offensive leader for the Bobcats had been struggling to score prior to today in the young season.
“The games before that I was really rushing everything, trying to do too much,” Suprise said. “I sat down with coach and my dad, too, and they told me I needed to just settle down. Let the game come to me and do what I do best. Finding the little open spaces and then getting in and beating defenders is what I’ve done my whole life and I just did that today.”
Quinnipiac head coach Eric Da Costa has seen many of his players get into slumps when they can’t find the back of the net.
“As a forward you live and die and you measure yourself on whether or not you score,” Da Costa said. “So he could have had six assists today and still been upset with his performance. That’s just how forwards’ mentalities are. To get the first one, I think he got the monkey off his back and it allowed him to play a little bit more carefree with less pressure, and the result was goal No. 2 and goal No. 3. I was happy to see him get his first one, and obviously getting two more and helping us seal the win was very nice.”
With the three goals, Suprise now has 20 in his career and is tied for 10th all-time at Quinnipiac.
Lafayette (1-2) outshot Quinnipiac 11-10 despite the final score. The Leopards also had three corners to just two for the Bobcats.
Quinnipiac heads to take on Loyola University on Saturday, a team that is normally a preseason favorite in the Mid-American Conference.
“Our schedule this year is extremely difficult from beginning to end,” Da Costa said. “Coming off of Boston College in our home opener, a nationally ranked team. Then coming off of two teams out of the Patriot League, which is a great league. Then we go down to Loyola and play a team out of the MAC which is always a preseason favorite or in the finals. Every team on our schedule is difficult and we need to get to more training this week.”
