[media-credit id=2278 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]The Quinnipiac men’s soccer team beat the Monmouth Hawks 6-0 on Wednesday at the Quinnipiac Soccer Stadium, earning its 10th win of the year and eight in MAAC conference play, the records reading 10-5-2 and 8-1-1, respectively.

With the victory, the Bobcats secured at least a top two seed in the MAAC playoffs, and this will mark the third consecutive year they’ve made the MAAC semifinal. This is also the ninth time that the team has made the playoffs in the last 11 seasons under head coach Eric Da Costa. Quinnipiac could also win the regular season championship with a loss or draw by Fairfield later in the day.

“Today, for us, was about putting ourselves in a position to win the regular season championship, and that’s important to us,” Da Costa said. “It always has been, and we wanted to make sure we did our job.”

Quinnipiac definitely did its job against the visiting Hawks. Sophomore goalkeeper Jared Mazzola posted another clean sheet. It wasn’t all Mazzola, however, as the defense did a great job keeping its goalie out of trouble, allowing only two shots in all 90 minutes of play, neither of which required a save from Mazzola. Six goals on offense doesn’t hurt either.

The first goal of the game came 26 minutes in, courtesy of senior forward Rashawn Dally. The Bobcats were awarded a goal kick, which Mazzola blasted beyond midfield. It was hit one time in the air and found junior forward Eamon Whelan, who played the ball along to a streaking Dally. Dally took a strike from about 18 yards out and placed the ball perfectly in the upper left-hand corner of the goal to give the Bobcats an early lead. This was the first of Dally’s two goals on the day, and he also contributed with an assist.

“It feels good,” Dally said of his recent return to the box score. “I scored one last game, the winning goal, and then I came out today and built some momentum, so it’s a good feeling going into the playoffs.”

Luckily for the Bobcats, it’s not just Dally who feels good during the most important part of the season – it’s the whole team.

“Everyone is positive,” Dally said. “We knew how big this season was, with the hump that we had to get over, so everyone is positive. We’ve just got to keep humble and keep on going from here.”

When it comes to the playoffs, coaches and players feel like they’re prepared, and all that’s left now is to stay healthy and keep playing the way they have been.

“Right now, you just want to continue to get healthy,” Da Costa said. “At this stage of the season it’s about winning, it’s about surviving, it’s about advancing, and come [next] Thursday [at the semifinal game] that’s going to be the game plan, let’s get to the final.”

The coach’s thoughts were echoed by his top performer today.

“Staying focused,” Dally said of what his team needs to do in order to find success in the postseason. “Everyone going on the field and taking care of their specific job that coach gives us. Staying in the positions, especially in a game like this, with 6-0. Everyone could easily bomb forward, but we’ve just got to stay focused and stay in our positions.”

Quinnipiac will play in the MAAC Tournament Semifinal on Thursday, Nov. 8. Although the game is against an unknown opponent and the time is still yet to be determined, the game will be hosted by the Bobcats at Quinnipiac Soccer Stadium.