Despite numerous scoring chances throughout the end of the second half, and five shots by team scoring leader Philip Suprise, Quinnipiac fell to Yale Friday afternoon, 1-0.
Senior William Daniels also tallied five shots on the day, and midfielder Robbie McLarney was right behind with four.
“We watched them three times coming into the game; we knew they were a quality team,” Quinnipiac head coach Eric Da Costa said. We knew they were struggling to score goals, from watching the film they created some good chances, and they were a bit unlucky. I was hoping that continued for another day, but they found a way to get one in, and were able to keep us off the scoreboard.”
The lone goal of the contest came off the foot of Bulldog Scott Armbrust in the 18th minute. Ambrust charged down the left side of the field past two defenders and drilled the ball off the crossbar and in for the 1-0 lead.
“In this game we had to win the center of the field,” Da Costa said. “Everything in the first half was a step too slow. We needed to do a better job of anticipating, reading the play, and moving with it.”
Yet, Quinnipiac (2-3) had numerous scoring chances throughout the following halves, and provided the defense to hold Yale in check. The Bobcats had their best scoring chance of the game late in the second half, when Suprise slipped past multiple defenders to take a shot on goal. Surprise ripped a shot at Yale keeper Bobby Thalman, who proceeded to give up a rebound to Ola Ogunjobi on an open goal. Ogunjobi shot wide, and Yale proceeded to kick the ball downfield.
The Bobcats also recorded scoring chances in the 34th, 41st, and 74th minutes of play.
“We had probably two chances there, and there were three opportunities where the goalkeeper made some pretty big saves,” Da Costa said. “Sometimes it’s just the way it goes, you don’t get the bounce that you need. We’ll look back and we’ll just regret the first 45 minutes, there’s a lot of positive about how we played the second 45.”
Quinnipiac takes the next four days off before traveling to Hartford on Sept. 19. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
