QU Men's Soccer Closes Regular Season Saturday At Rider (3 PM)

Saturday, October 31

Ben Cohen Field - Lawrenceville, N.J.

3 pm

Quinnipiac University

Rider

QU Men's Soccer Closes Regular Season Saturday At Rider (3 PM)

10/30/2015 9:37:00 AM | Men's Soccer

By: QU Sports Information

Quinnipiac University (1-9-6, 1-4-4 MAAC) at

Rider University (10-5-1, 5-3-1 MAAC)
Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015 • 3 PM
Ben Cohen Field • Lawrenceville, N.J.
All-Time Series vs. Rider: 2-0
Last Meeting: QU 2-1 (Oct. 11, 2014 at Hamden, Conn.)

BOBCATS CLOSE OUT REGULAR SEASON
The Quinnipiac men's soccer team plays its final regular season game on Saturday (3 p.m.) when it travels to face Rider. The start time was moved up to 3 p.m. from its original 7 p.m. time in order to accommodate a MAAC women's soccer playoff game which Rider is hosting at 7 p.m. The Bobcats will look to end a difficult regular season on a high note heading into next weekend's conference tournament in Kissimmee, Florida.

MAAC UPDATE
The Bobcats will finish in either the No. 9 or No. 10 spot heading into the conference tournament next weekend, and will play an opening round game on Thursday, Nov. 5. Quinnipiac currently stands at No. 10 and can move up to No. 9 with a win over Rider and a Manhattan loss. The Bobcats will likely draw either Canisius or Saint Peter's in its first MAAC Tournament game, although other scenarios are still possible.

LAST GAME
The Bobcats tied the score with 19:58 left on a goal from freshman Matt Taylor, but Siena responded to net the game-winner in the 84th minute on Wednesday afternoon in Loudonville. The goal from Taylor was a one-timer in the box off of assists from junior back Liam O"Sullivan and sophomore midfielder Max Rothenbucher, and ended a scoreless drought for the Bobcats, which had played back-to-back 0-0 ties against Fairfield and Iona coming in. Siena led 1-0 at the half when it scored in the 19th minute, just minutes after Quinnipiac freshman forward Rashawn Dally hit the post. Dally was very active on the offensive end, totaling six shots on the day, while junior goalies Triston Henry (one) and Brian Westerman (two) combined for three saves.

ESCHE NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Senior defender Tobias Esche earned academic recognition this week when he was named to the Capital One Academic All-District I team in a vote of the district's sports information directors. Esche, who has a 3.91 grade point average as a business management major, has started at center back for the Bobcats for the last three years after transferring from North Carolina, and is a two-time first-team All-MAAC selection, and a two-time second-team NSCAA All-Northeast Region selection. He has helped Quinnipiac to two straight regular season MAAC titles in 2013 and 2014, as well as the program's first-tever NCAA Division I Tournament bid in 2013.

SENIOR DAY
Last Saturday, Quinnipiac honored the nine members of this year's men's soccer senior class. The seniors have been a part of three regular season conference championships in the last three years (2012 in the NEC, 2013-2014 in the MAAC) and have lost only five conference games in the last four years, including an undefeated MAAC season (7-0-3) a year ago. The class of 2016 helped the Bobcats reach their first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament in 2013 after winning the MAAC regular season and postseason titles.This year's senior class includes players from Germany (Tobias Esche), New Zealand (Erik Panzer), and France (Simon Brossier), as well as two from New Jersey (Stevenson Hawkey, James Greco), two from Connecticut (Nick Lasewicz, Joe Da Graca) and two from Massachusetts (Justin Kody, Tanor Jobe).

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 8-1-1 in their final season in the Northeast Conference (2012) and then earning 7-1-2 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 23-6-14 in 43 games overall against conference opponents (including four ties in tournament games), even with its off season this year at 1-4-4.

SCOUTING RIDER
The Broncs enter the regular season finale with 10 wins on the year (10-5-1) and a 5-3-1 mark in conference. Rider had a four-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday with a 5-2 upset loss to Canisius in a driving rainstorm. Christian Flath leads the way with seven goals and four assists in only 11 games played, but he has been out of action in the last two weeks. Jose Aguinaga has also tallied six goals and six assists to tie Flath for the team lead with 18 points, while Elliott Otmani and Florian Valot each have five goals in a balanced Bronc offense. David Pastuna and Ryan Baird have split the minutes in goal almost evenly, and have similar numbers (Pastuna has a 1.28 goals against average and a .710 save percentage, while Baird is at 1.37 and .764, respectively).

LAST YEAR'S MEETING
Quinnipiac hosted Rider a year ago and came away with a 2-1 win on its home field. The Bobcats jumped out to a 2-0 lead at the half, on a pair of goals from Machel Baker, both of which were set up by James Doig. Quinnipiac had to hold on in the second half against a furious Rider comeback effort playing 10 aside, as the Broncs finished with a 21-5 edge in shots and finally scored in the 88th minute to cut the deficit in half. Current junior Brian Westerman finished the game in goal after starter Borja Angoitia received a red card in the 62nd minute, along with a Rider player and had two saves to help secure the win.

GOLAZO, GOLAZO
The Bobcats had a pair of highlight-reel quality goals during the month of October. Sophomore midfielder Max Rothenbucher 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 at Manhattan on Oct. 14, 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 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.

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 23-3-9 in conference play since the start of the 2012 season, but 0-3-1 against Monmouth. The other three losses have all come this season (to Siena, Canisius and Saint Peter's).

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 55 saves on the year in the first 16 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.

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 returned 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, but has been out of action since the early part of the year with an injury and is expected to take a medical redshirt. 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
The Bobcats will head next week to Kissimmee, Florida for this year's MAAC Tournament, which will be held from Nov. 5-9. Quinnipiac will play in the opening round on Nov. 5 against an opponent and a time to be determined.

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