HAMDEN, Conn — Quinnipiac men’s soccer pushed its winless streak to four games Tuesday, falling to the Bryant Bulldogs 3-0 to close its non-conference schedule.
Bryant came into this contest ranked just out of the United Soccer Coaches’ Top 25. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 28 in RPI while the Bobcats sit at No. 192.
“We had one eye looking forward to it and that makes it a little bit more challenging when you’re playing a team of that quality and to not have to approach it that way,” Quinnipiac head coach Eric Da Costa said.
A familiar face for the Bobcats was in net for the Bulldogs as senior goalkeeper Antreas Hadjigavriel made his return to Hamden after spending two years with Quinnipiac in 2020-2021.
“We want to see players do well, no matter where they go, whether they’ve graduated from here, or you know, they’ve gone to other places,” Da Costa said. “We’re glad that he’s in a position where he is.”
Hadjigavriel had a slow day from the back, facing zero shots on goal. The Bulldogs played a possession game, which limited the Bobcats from making any offensive plays. This is the first time Quinnipiac was held without a shot on goal since Aug. 31, 2015, against UConn.
“Their biggest defense is the fact that they keep the ball. They don’t have to defend a lot without the ball more often than not,” Da Costa said. “Your best defense is an offense and I think they’ve got a good philosophy.”
Bryant tallied its first goal of the game in the 14th minute when senior midfielder Vicente Valor Martinez took a shot at the top of the box which was deflected off a Bobcats defender and past a sprawling Netzell. For the rest of the first half, the Bulldogs dictated the run of play, not allowing Quinnipiac to generate any offensive chances.
At the start of the second half, the Bobcats replaced sophomore goalkeeper Karl Netzell with junior Matthew Pisani, marking Pisani’s first appearance of the season.
“Matt has earned minutes,” Da Costa said. “We have four goalkeepers on the roster for a reason and Matt has trained hard and he was in a good position to be able to come in and get some time today.”
The change of Pisani for Netzell wasn’t the only change for the Bobcats in the game as Da Costa played 23 players in the game.
“It’s a good chance for these guys to get on the field and we tell them on day one, as we go throughout the year we’re going to need everybody and you might not like your role where it is right now,” Da Costa said. “We have to accept it and hopefully, it grows as we get opportunities.”
In part due to the personnel changes, the Bobcats could not stop the Bulldogs as they scored two goals in the second half. The first goal happened when Martinez, in a favorable free kick position, got his shot blocked right back to him where he volleyed the ball into the back of the net for the 2-0 lead.
The latter only took an additional minute and 47 seconds for the Bulldogs to score as a corner kick from junior defender Kerman Sukia found junior midfielder Jonas Lyshoj in the box, who poked the ball past Pisani to bring the visitors lead to three. The Bulldogs maintained this score until the end of the game.
Quinnipiac now returns to conference play for a bout against Rider at home on Sept. 30 at 2 p.m.
