The men’s soccer season ended on a sour note as the Bobcats dropped their final two games of the 2003 season. Last Sunday, a 1-1 halftime tie against Monmouth College turned into a 5-2 defeat for Quinnipiac. They finished 7th in the NEC, compiling a 3-6 conference record while recording an overall record of 5-11-1, which includes a winless road record of 0-7.
Despite a mediocre finish to the season, QU beat the odds by finishing a robust 7th, as the preseason polls picked them to finish one spot lower in eight place. They got off to a fast start with a pair of 2-1 victories at the Black Bear Classic to bring home the tournament title in Maine on August 29 and September 1. Due to an unfortunate turn of events, they lost seven out of their next eight contests, which included a five game losing skid.
These two wins alone surpassed last seasons win total, when QU finished dead last in the conference with a 1-8-1 NEC record, finishing 1-14-1 overall.
However, the Bobcats would never go down without a fight. They showed that effort and hard work is a key component to their game by taking six games into overtime this season, which included four straight overtime games from October 3 through October 19. The Bobcats finished 3-2-1 in games decided after regulation.
Despite giving up 289 shots this season, the Bobcats only allowed 27 goals, while they have scored only 10 less with a total of 17.
Goalkeepers Kenneth Lewis, a junior from Daytona Beach, Fla., and sophomore Conor Shilcock-Elliot from Rosemont, Penn., split time between the pipes. Both players have goals against averages around 1.50 per game. Lewis made 53 saves while accumulating a save percentage of .803 and had the only shutout of the season. Shilcock -Elliot made an impressive 74 saves and had a .841 save percentage. Shilcock- Elliot’s performance came in a grueling 800 minutes of action this season.
On the offensive side of the field, freshmen Andrew Mundy from Glenolden, Penn., led all Bobcats with five goals this season, giving him a total of 10 points for the season. One impressive statistic is Mundy’s shooting percentage. A total of 13 on net shots gave him a .385 shooting percentage.
Francis Mavula, a freshman finance major from Ottawa, Ontario, was a close second kicking in four goals for the season. Mavula also led the team in assists with three and total points with 11. He kicked three game winning goals this season, including two in a row at the Black Bear Invitational. This feat earned him the Most Valuable Player award for the tourney, including NEC Rookie of the Week Honors.
As a team the Bobcats scored 1.03 goals per game. They scored a total of 16 goals as a team while attempting 123 shots which translated into a .130 shooting percent. In contrast, their opponents shot a dismal .089 percent scoring 24 goals on 269 shots. The Bobcats averaged 8.9 shots per game while their opponents averaged 17.9 shots per contest. Quinnipiac attempted 52 corner kicks while Bobcat opponents shot 121 balls from the corner.
Three of the 16 total goals scored by the Bobcats came in overtime. Six of the goals came in the first half and seven came after the intermission. As a team the Bobcats had seven assists three by Mavula, two by senior Stephen Drosopoulus, and one each by freshman Anthony Patierno and junior Dominic Popolozio.
Three of the five Bobcat victories came at home while the other two were tallied in the Black Bear Invitational. The team finished 3-4-1 in Hamden. The three home wins came against Sacred Heart, 1-0, St. Francis (NY), 2-1, and St. Francis (PA), 3-2. The lone tie came against the University of the Holy Cross on October 19, which ended in a 0-0 finish.
The team will lose four senior: Drosopoulus, David Rodger, Fred Serra, and Bryan Wallace. Next season’s team will consist of four senior, seven juniors, 10 sophomores, and at least four freshmen recruits who will fill the void of the departed seniors.
With the young and talented roster returning next season, the men hope to build on this seasons’ successes and learn from its disappointments to build a respectable program for the future.
