QU Men's Soccer Stays In First, Holds On To Defeat Siena 3-2

Wednesday, October 19

Hamden, Conn.

3:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

10-5-0 (6-1-0MAAC)

Siena College

6-7-2 (4-2-0MAAC)

Siena

Quinnipiac

QU Men's Soccer Stays In First, Holds On To Defeat Siena 3-2

10/19/2016 6:04:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

By: QU Sports Information

HAMDEN, Conn. – Freshman forward Eamon Whelan (New Fairfield, Conn.) scored on a pair of penalty kicks to reach the 10-goal plateau for the season as the Quinnipiac men's soccer team stayed in first place in the MAAC with a 3-2 home win over Siena on Wednesday afternoon at QU Soccer Field in a battle of the top two teams in the league standings.

The win was the sixth in a row for the Bobcats, who improve to 10-5 overall and 6-1 in the MAAC, giving them the inside track for the top seed and the right to host the conference tournament. Siena slips to 6-7-2 overall and 4-2 in the MAAC with the loss.

Sophomore forward Rashawn Dally (Bloomfield, Conn.) got the Bobcats on the board first just 8:08 into the contest (goal pictured). Senior forward Ryan Scheiderman (Brick, N.J.) played Dally up the left sideline with a short pass, leaving him one on one with a Siena outside back. Dally pushed the ball past the defender, turned on the speed, and bent a shot from a sharp angle to the left of the Siena six-yard box past goalkeeper Aleks Radosavjevic and inside the far post.

The Bobcats had several quality chances to take a 2-0 lead, including a leaping volley from Whelan that Radosavjevic saved with his leg. Siena then was able to answer in the 27th minute when Alexander Tajera one-timed a crossing pass from inside the top of the six-yard box past Quinnipiac goalkeeper Chysostomos Iakovidis (Thessaloniki, Greece) to level the score at 1-1.

Just before the halftime break, though, Siena was whistled for a foul in the box, and Whelan stepped up to the line to restore Quinnipiac's lead at 2-1 with just 1:11 left on the clock. That lead held until the 75th minute, when Siena was whistled for another penalty kick when Radosavjevic took down junior midfielder Filosmar Cordeiro (Stamford, Conn.) just inside the top of the 18-yard box on a breakaway. Whelan again took the penalty kick, and again slotted it home for a 3-1 lead.

Siena got one of the penalty kick goals back with just 3:24 remaining when the Bobcats were whistled for a hand ball in the box. Tejera slotted his shot home to pull the Saints within 3-2. Siena had one last quality chance for a tie, but Quinnipiac was able to defend a corner kick with just over a minute left and kill the remaining clock.

Siena finished with a 17-6 lead in shots, although the Saints had a 10-2 advantage in the second half while Quinnipiac was protecting its lead with three of its regular starting midfielders out of action, including both captains – senior James Doig (Liverpool, England) and junior Max Rothenbuecher (Munich, Germany). Iakovidis came up big with six saves for the Bobcats, three in each half, to get the win in net.

Quinnipiac earns a much-needed bye on Saturday and is back in action next Wednesday when it travels to Saint Peter's for a 3 p.m. contest.