The Quinnipiac men’s soccer team picked up its first win of the season Sunday with a thrilling come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Mount St. Mary’s in its conference opener.
The game was tied 1-1 in the 87th minute when junior Matthew Rothbart blasted a shot from 25 yards out to the lower left corner of the net, giving the Bobcats (1-5-1, 1-0 NEC) a 2-1 lead and eventually, victory.
“We struggled through the first six games, at least not getting a win, but it wasn’t because we weren’t working hard and playing well,” Rothbart said. “But we put that behind us and realized that these are conference games now.”
Quinnipiac head coach Eric Da Costa was pleased with his team’s effort, particularly Rothbart’s.
“He’s been huge for us,” Da Costa said. “I’m very proud of the way he’s progressing and developing. And he’s been fantastic thus far this year and we continue to expect that out of him.”
Rothbart leads the team this year with three goals and six points.
Mount St. Mary’s got on the board first on a header by sophomore defender Alex Ockford in the 26th minute, putting the Bobcats in an early hole.
What made matters worse for the Bobcats was when senior midfielder Dominic Adams picked up a red card just before halftime, meaning the Bobcats would have to play a man down in the second half. Da Costa described the red card by Adams as “a brainless play.”
Eric Detzel slide tackled Adams in front of the Bobcats’ bench, and as Detzel tried to get up Adams kicked him in retaliation.
In addition to the red card, senior forward Nick Pelicaen went down with an apparent foot injury and did not return to the game.
Despite playing a man down, the Bobcats were able to get on the board and tie the game at 1-1 in the 49th minute on a penalty kick by senior captain Pierre Soubrier.
With the game tied at 1-1 in the 57th minute, Bobcat sophomore goalkeeper Josh Lavallee made a pivotal diving save on Mountaineer junior forward Chris Wheeler.
Mount St. Mary’s held the advantage in shots 12-7 and in corners 8-1.
The Bobcats will look to build on their first win of the year when they travel to Pennsylvania Friday to take on St. Francis (Pa.) at 3:30 p.m.
“We’re like sharks that smell blood in the water,” Da Costa said. “So we got that taste and we’re hoping that these guys got the scent of it and we continue to get after it.”
Photo credit: Charlotte Greene
