One goal. That’s all the Quinnipiac Bobcats men’s soccer team needed to beat the Yale Bulldogs on Tuesday. But it seems like one goal is a struggle, in fact, they’ve only scored one all year.

Quinnipiac had to settle for a scoreless draw Tuesday, but, according to head coach Eric Da Costa, it is a sign of optimism.

“We’re getting healthier, we’re getting more fit, and we’re starting to find ourselves a little bit,” Da Costa said.  “The rhythm is there and we’re creating some more chances, and there are definitely things that we can build off of this game that we can continue to improve.”

Photo credits: Vanessa Stier

Sophomore goalie Josh Lavallee made three saves in his first shutout of the season, including a stop against Peter Jacobson in the second overtime.

“We came out a little flat in the first and picked it up in the second,” Lavallee said. “We had a couple of chances to put them away [in overtime] but it just didn’t fall through today.”

Lavallee believes the defense has been strong for the Bobcats this season, but also realizes that the offense needs to step up in the future as well.

“We just need to find the back of the net, that’s where we’re lacking right now,” Lavallee said. “Defensively we’ve kept it strong in the back, but going forward is our main goal right now.”

Lavallee’s first start came on the road against Providence, which resulted in a 1-0 loss. Lavallee got the nod again over sophomore goalkeeper George Ellis.

“At the end of the day whoever is training better and working harder is the guy we’re going to go with,” Da Costa said. “And right now that guy is Josh. He’s done very well and has taken advantage of his opportunity. He’s done very well and we’re happy for him so far.”

The Bobcats (0-4-1) certainly had plenty of scoring opportunities, outshooting Yale 17-9. Nick Pelicaen’s shot sailed over the crossbar in the 26th minute, and later in the first half William Cavallo’s shot deflected off the crossbar.

Brandon Strain-Goode nearly scored the winner for Quinnipiac in the second overtime period, but his shot sailed just wide of the right post.

“It was probably one of our better performances that we’ve put together, especially offensively,” Da Costa said. “We had more opportunities on goal and took more chances.”

Quinnipiac had more opportunities that were called back because of fouls and offside penalties, including one in the 84th minute when sophomore forward Philip Suprise was called offside.

Yale’s goalie Bobby Thalman shut out Quinnipiac with his five saves, giving the Bulldogs a record of 1-5-1.

“He made saves and kept his team in the game and was a big part of the reason why they had the draw today,” Da Costa said.

Even though their record doesn’t show it, Da Costa said the Bobcats have shown improvement over their last two games, and they still have that first victory as a goal in sight.

“Our focus is to get our first win,” Da Costa said. “Hopefully against Stony Brook we’ll come up with a win.”

The Bobcats face Stony Brook on the road Sunday at 6 p.m.

Below, Josh Lavallee talks about the game:

Video credit: QU Athletics