Quinnipiac University
Iona
QU Men's Soccer Clinches MAAC Regular Season Title With 2-1 Win At Iona
11/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
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New Rochelle, New York – The Quinnipiac University men's soccer team clinched the regular season Metro Atlantic Athletic Championship with a 2-1 victory over the Iona Gaels. As the number one seed, the Bobcats will host the tournament in Hamden at the QU Soccer Field. Senior forward Machel Baker (Spainsh Town, Jamaica) continued his MAAC dominance with the first score early in the second half.
For the third consecutive year Quinnipiac has been named the regular season champion. In 2012, the Bobcats took the Northeast Conference title with an 8-1-1 record. Last year, in their first season in the MAAC, the Bobcats claimed a share of the regular season crown with Monmouth. Entering the last game of the 2013 season, Quinnipiac needed a win against Rider and a Monmouth loss to claim a share of the title. The Bobcats were able to net the game-winner in the 105th minute off the foot of former star, Simon Hinde. Just minutes later, Canisius scored in overtime to take down Monmouth.
With the win, Quinnipiac's unbeaten streak improves to 11 games. The Bobcats are 8-0-3 in the stretch after losing at Holy Cross on November 17th. In their last 15 conference games dating back to last season, QU is undefeated, posting a 9-0-6 record.
In the first half, Quinnipiac's attack was slow, but their defense stood strong behind the play of Borja Angoitia (Bilbao, Spain). Iona outshot the Bobcats 9-2 in the first half including six shots on goal. Angoitia showed why he was named the 2013 MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year with six saves in the first frame. Baker took both shots for Quinnipiac, one going high over the crossbar and the other stopped by Iona's keeper.
In the 54th minute early in the second half, Baker put QU on the board with an unassisted strike from 25 yards out into the lower left corner. With the goal, the senior has scored nine times in the last nine games. He leads the conference in points with 21 and goals at nine. The Spanish Town native has scored in all but one MAAC contest.
Quinnipiac scored an insurance goal 11 minutes later off an Iona own goal. Freshman Shaquille Huggins (Trinidad and Tobago) ripped a shot at Iona's Julian Petrello who was able to save the attempt, but the ball rebounded and bounced off a Gael defender and into the net. Less than three minutes later, Iona secured their lone goal of the game. Second to Baker in the MAAC in points at 18 and goals with seven, Iona senior Ignacio Maganto scored off a shot from 30 yards out. The goal was Maganto's 10th of the season.
The own goal proved to be enough insurance for the Bobcats as they held off a strong Gael attack in the closing minutes. Overall, Quinnipiac was outshot 20-10 and 9-5 in shots on goal. Angotia recorded a season high eight saves in the victory.
Up next, the Quinnipiac Bobcats will take on Fairfield in an all-CT matchup for their final regular season game. Kickoff is set for Nov. 5th at 7 PM from Lessing Field in Fairfield. Quinnipiac will receive a bye in the first round of the conference tournament as the number one seed. They will play in the semifinals at the QU Soccer Field against the lowest advancing seed on Friday, November 14.
Student-Athletes, parents and fans can download the 2014-15 QU Athletics schedules to your laptop and mobile devices for free by clicking in the iCalendar link at the bottom of each sport's homepage or the master schedule page. Fans can also follow Quinnipiac Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@QUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates.
