QU Men's Soccer Hosts Fairfield Wednesday

Quinnipiac University (1-8-4, 1-3-2 MAAC) vs

Fairfield University (4-4-5, 3-2-1 MAAC)
Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015 • 2 PM
QU Soccer Field • Hamden, Conn.
All-Time Series vs. Fairfield: 2-0-1
Last Meeting: T 0-0 (Nov. 14, 2014, MAAC Semifinals, Fairfield advanced 3-1 on PK's)

BOBCATS HOST LOCAL RIVAL FAIRFIELD
The Quinnipiac men's soccer team will look to finish the regular season strong when it hosts Fairfield on Wednesday with less than two weeks left before the conference tournament. The Bobcats earned a 2-0 win at Manhattan on Wednesday, but then fell 1-0 at home to Canisius on Saturday.

DOMINANT IN CONFERENCE
Quinnipiac has had a remarkable run of success in conference play over the last few seasons. From 2012-2014, the Bobcats lost only two conference games in three years, going 8-1-2 in their final season in the Northeast Conference (2012) and then earning 8-1-1 and 7-0-3 marks in their first two seasons in the MAAC. Quinnipiac had a 17-game unbeaten streak (10-0-7) against MAAC opponents snapped in its conference opener this season against Saint Peter's. Over the last four years, Quinnipiac is a combined 24-5-10 in league games, and 24-5-14 overall against conference opponents (including tournament games).

LAST WEEK
The Bobcats split a pair of MAAC games last week, picking up a 2-0 road win over Manhattan on Wednesday and falling 1-0 at home to Canisius on Saturday. At Manhattan, freshman midfielder Matt Taylor scored his first collegiate goal when he blasted in a 25-yard rocket off a short pass from fellow freshman Colton Grob just 2:49 into the contest. Senior defender Nick Lasewicz added his first collegiate goal with just over seven minutes left when he converted in the box off a feed from junior forward Ryan Scheiderman. Junior goalie Triston Henry had two saves for the Bobcats to get the shutout. On Saturday, Canisius struck for a goal in the 17th minute and did not allow the Bobcats to put a shot on net in the final 73 minutes as it captured a 1-0 road win. Quinnipiac pressed forward in the closing minutes and had three solid bids at a tying goal, but Erik Panzer sent a rocket high with four minutes to go, Taylor had his shot from 15 yards barely blocked by a Golden Griffin defender and Lasewicz missed high off the ensuing corner kick. Henry had three saves for the Bobcats, one of which came with one second left as he stopped a breakaway.

SCOUTING FAIRFIELD
The Stags come into today's matchup with a 4-4-5 overall record and a 3-2-1 mark in MAAC play after playing to a 0-0 tie with conference-leading Monmouth on Saturday. Fairfield has defeated Siena (2-0), Iona (1-0) and Canisius (1-0) in conference play, while falling to Manhattan (1-0) and in overtime to Marist (2-1). Dominic Marshall has been the team's top offensive weapon with six goals this season, while Ben Wingall has three goals and three assists. Justin Lewis and Steven Valente are tied with Wingall for team-high honors with three assists, while Matt Turner has played every minute in goal and has a 0.98 goals against average and five shutouts.

LAST YEAR'S MEETINGS
Quinnipiac defeated Fairfield 2-0 in the regular season finale last season, and then came back to play the Stags nine days later in the MAAC Tournament, which ended in a 0-0 tie with Fairfield advancing via penalty kicks. The regular season meeting was tied 0-0 in the final 10 minutes before the Stags were whistled for a foul in the box. Senior goalkeeper Borja Angiotia took the penalty kick and converted for his first collegiate goal. Current senior Justin Kody sealed the win with an insurance goal with 32 seconds left off a through ball from current senior James Greco. The rematch saw neither team able to convert through 110 minutes before the Stags won 3-1 on penalty kicks to advance to the MAAC finals. Fairfield had an 11-8 edge in shots, as Angiotia ended his career with two saves for a shutout.

GOLAZO, GOLAZO
The Bobcats have had a pair of highlight-reel quality goals in the last two weeks. Sophomore midfielder Max Rothenbucher (pictured) cranked in a 30-yard shot in a 1-1 tie at Niagara on Oct. 3, giving the Bobcats a 1-0 lead in the first half. Then on Wednesday, freshman midfielder Matt Taylor scored his first collegiate goal on a 25-yard bomb just 2:49 into the contest, providing the eventual game-winner in a 2--0 Bobcat victory.

MAGIC NUMBER TWO
Five upperclassmen on the Bobcats scored their second career goals in a span of three weeks. In a game against Holy Cross on Sept. 12, sophomore John-John Diaz found the net for the second time in his career (his first came against Saint Peter's last year). Against Yale on Sept. 19, senior Tobias Esche and junior Ryan Scheiderman both scored their second career goals. Esche slammed home a penalty kick for the Bobcats first goal while Scheiderman scored in traffic inside the box with 20 seconds remaining. On Sept. 22 at St. John's, senior Justin Kody found the net for the second time in his career when he headed in a cross in the opening half of a 1-1 tie. Finally, sophomore Max Rothenbucher joined the two-goal club when he blasted in a 30-yard shot in the first half against Niagara on Oct. 3. Scheiderman and Esche have since added their third goals, with Scheiderman tallying one against Marist on Oct. 7 and Esche converting a PK at Monmouth on Oct. 10.

THE THORN IN THEIR PAW
Monmouth, which joined Quinnipiac in moving from the NEC to the MAAC in 2013, gave the Bobcats their only two conference losses in a span of three years (an NEC loss in 2012 and a MAAC loss in 2013). Against every other league foe, Quinnipiac is a combined 22-2-9 in conference play since the start of the 2012 season, but 0-3-1 against Monmouth.

DALLY'S FIRST TALLY
Freshman forward Rashawn Dally cored his first career goal in a 2-1 loss at Holy Cross on Sept. 12. Dally received the ball in open space and fired a strike through the keeper's legs for the score. The goal also marked the first of the season for Quinnipiac, which was shut out in its first three games (by Boston College, Connecticut and Brown).

CAREER HIGH
Junior goalie Triston Henry, in his first season with Quinnipiac, registered a career high 12 saves in a loss to Brown on Sept. 4. The Bobcat goalkeeper stopped five shots in the first half before tallying seven more in the second frame. He now has 50 saves on the year in the first 13 contests, including six in a shutout against against his former team (Connecticut) on Aug. 31 and two in his second shutout against Manhattan on Oct. 10.

FRESH FACES
Three Bobcats made their first career starts for Quinnipiac in the season opener against Boston College. Junior goalkeeper Triston Henry, freshman defender Oscar Evans, and freshman forward Rashawn Dally all made their debuts in the starting lineup. Fellow freshman Matt Taylor missed that contest, but has since moved into the starting lineup in the midfield to give the Bobcats four new faces in the regular 11, while freshman midfielder/forward Colton Grob has earned a pair of recent starts as well.

BOBCATS SECOND IN MAAC PRESEASON POLL
The Bobcats were selected second in the MAAC's preseason poll with Monmouth taking the top spot. In 2014, Quinnipiac went undefeated in the MAAC regular season earning the title of MAAC Regular Season Champions for the second year in a row, and return 19 letter winners from last year.

MAAC PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
1.         Monmouth (111)
2.         Quinnipiac (95)
T3. Iona (87)
T3. Rider (87)
4.         Fairfield (83)
5.         Siena (77)
6.         Canisius (52)
7.         Marist (44)
8.         Manhattan (39)
9.         Saint Peter's (26)
10. Niagara (25)

DA COSTA REIGNING MAAC COACH OF YEAR
Quinnipiac's Eric Da Costa was recognized last season as the 2014 MAAC Coach of the year after leading the Bobcats to a 7-0-3 conference record. Now entering his eleventh season at the helm, Da Costa has helped Quinnipiac capture its last three regular season championships (two in the MAAC, one in the NEC).

THREE'S COMPANY
The Bobcats return three All-MAAC selections from last season's team, senior Tobias Esche, junior James Doig, and sophomore Shaquille Huggins. Esche returns to anchor the Quinnipiac defense which ranked second in GAA (0.56), and goals allowed (6), while also ranking third in shutouts (5). Doig earned his second All-MAAC honor after earning the honor as a freshman. As a sophomore, Doig led Quinnipiac in assists (6) while adding ten points and two goals. Huggins earned a spot on the All-MAAC Rookie Team after for his strong play and being a key player in the Quinnipiac midfield offensive attack.

LOOKING AHEAD
Quinnipiac is next in action when it hosts its regular season home finale against Iona on Saturday at 2 p.m. It will also be Senior Day for the program's nine-member senior class.

FOLLOW THE BOBCATS
Fans can follow Quinnipiac men's soccer and all of the Quinnipiac teams on QuinnipiacBobcats.com or on twitter at QUAthletics. You can also follow Quinnipiac men's soccer on Twitter at QU_MSOC

Schedule

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Players Mentioned

Rashawn Dally

John-John Diaz

James Doig

Tobias Esche

Oscar Evans

James Greco

Colton Grob

Triston Henry

Shaquille Huggins

Justin Kody

Nick Lasewicz

Erik Panzer

Max Rothenbuecher

Ryan Scheiderman

Matthew Taylor

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Quinnipiac University Athletics

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Upcoming Event: Men's Soccer versus Manhattan on Oct. 15, 2025 at 3:00 PM

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Upcoming Event: Men's Soccer at Fairfield on Oct. 29, 2025 at 7:00 PM