QU Men's Soccer Hosts MAAC-Leading Marist Wednesday

Wednesday, October 7

Hamden, CT

3 pm

Quinnipiac University

Marist

QU Men's Soccer Hosts MAAC-Leading Marist Wednesday

10/5/2015 9:58:00 AM | Men's Soccer

By: QU Sports Information

Quinnipiac University (0-6-3, 0-1-1 MAAC) vs

Marist College (5-5, 3-0 MAAC)
Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015 • 3 PM
QU Soccer Field • Hamden, Conn.
All-Time Series vs. Marist: 4-2-1 (2-0 MAAC)
Last Meeting: W 4-2 (Oct. 15, 2014)

BOBCATS RETURN HOME TO FACE MAAC CO-LEADERS
The Quinnipiac men's soccer team returns to the friendly confines of QU Soccer Field after its longest road trip of the season to host Marist on Wednesday at 3 p.m.The Bobcats came away with a 1-1 tie at Niagara on Saturday despite playing down a man for the final 65 minutes. Marist comes in tied for the MAAC lead with Monmouth (which the Bobcats face on the road on Saturday) at 3-0 in league play so far.

LOOKING TO CONTINUE NEW STREAK
Quinnipiac had a 17-game unbeaten streak against MAAC opponents (including 14 MAAC contests and three MAAC Tournament games) snapped when it fell 2-0 to Saint Peter's at home on Saturday, Sept. 26. The Bobcats were 10-0-7 overall against league foes since their last defeat, which came at Monmouth on Oct. 23, 2013, which had been the only loss the program had suffered as a MAAC member. Dating back to their final year in the NEC, the Bobcats are 20-2-10 in their last 32 games against conference opponents, including 20-2-6 in the regular season (all four postseason games in that span have been ties decided on penalty kicks). Quinnipiac tied Niagara on Saturday 1-1 to hope to start a new unbeaten streak,

LAST TIME OUT
The Bobcats earned a 1-1 tie with Niagara on Saturday on the road, despite playing the entire second half and both overtimes with only 10 men. Max Rothenbucher gave Quinnipiac an early lead when he blasted a 30-yard shot into the upper-right corner in only the 14th minute. Just over 12 minutes later, Niagara found the equalizer, and Rothenbucher was given a red card with just 30 seconds left in the half to leave the Bobcats shorthanded the rest of the way. The defense held tough, though, as junior goalie Triston Henry needed to make only one save in the second half and one in the second overtime to preserve the 1-1 tie. Senior Justin Kody had a late bid for a shorthanded goal in regulation saved in the 82nd minute.

SCOUTING MARIST
The Red Foxes are 5-5 overall, but are off to a perfect 3-0 start in league play with wins over Rider (2-0), Canisius (3-2) and Saint Peter's (2-0). Cameron Harr has been Marist's most dangerous offensive weapon with seven goals, ranking him first in the MAAC, while Brian Coyt and Simon Jorgensen each have two goals. Mark Rajovic has played every minute in goal for Marist this season and has a .750 save percentage and a 1.68 goals against average, to go along with three shutouts.

LAST YEAR'S MEETING
Quinnipiac came away with a high-scoring 4-2 win on the road in Poughkeepsie last season, scoring two second half goals after the teams went into intermission tied 2-2, Graduated senior Raphael Carvalho scored twice for the Bobcats, the first coming just 1:39 into the game to give Quinnipiac an early 1-0 lead, and the second putting his team ahead to stay at the 58:07 mark of the second half. Graduated senior Machel Baker added a first half goal to make the score 2-1, while current junior James Doig had an insurance goal in the second half on a 30-yard free kick for the final tally of the game. Dylan Lee and Erik Dahl had the Marist goals, while Brian Westerman had four saves for the Bobcats in net.

FOUR-SHADOWING?
The Bobcats compiled an 0-5-2 record against a difficult non-conference schedule, which included Boston College, Connecticut and Saint John's. The slow start is not necessarily a bad omen, though, Quinnipiac started 2-4-1 in 2012, 1-3-3 in 2013 and 1-4-1 in 2014, before going on to win all three conference titles (with a combined 22-2-6 league record).

MAGIC NUMBER TWO
Five upperclassmen on the Bobcats have scored their second career goals in the last 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 on Saturday when he blasted in a 30-yard shot in the first half against Niagara.

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 39 saves on the year in the first 10 contests, including six in a shutout against against his former team (Connecticut) on Aug. 31. T

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). Quinnipiac was 0-2-1 against Monmouth from 2012-14 in the regular season and a combined 22-0-5 against all other league opponents. Including the conference tournament, the Bobcats wee 0-2-2 against Monmouth from 2012-14 and 22-0-8 against everyone else.

FRESH FACES
Three Bobcats made their first career starts for Quinnipiac in the season opener against Boston College. Junior goalkeeper Triston Henry, freshman midfielder 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 to give the Bobcats four new faces in the regular 11.

FIRST GAME JITTERS
After falling to Boston College 1-0 on opening day, the Bobcats have now lost their season opener for the sixth consecutive year. The last time they did not fall in the first game came on September 5, 2009 in a 1-1 tie against Yale.

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 travels to New Jersey to face the other MAAC co-leader (Monmouth) on Saturday at 7 p.m.

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