QU Men's Soccer Hosts Saint Joseph's on Saturday in First Game Played in New Stadium
9/1/2017 7:08:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Quinnipiac Bobcats (0-2) at
Saint Joseph's University Hawks (1-0-1)
Saturday, September 2, 2017 • 2:00 PM
Quinnipiac Soccer Turf Complex • Hamden, Conn.
All-Time Series vs. Saint Joseph's: First Ever Meeting
Game Links
After falling to Boston College and UConn on the road to start the 2017 season, the Quinnipiac men's soccer team will play host to Saint Joseph's University at 2 PM on Saturday in its brand-new soccer stadium. This will be the first regular-season game that the men's soccer team plays on the newly renovated Quinnipiac Soccer Turf Complex. The Bobcats opened the season with a 4-0 loss against B.C., followed by a thrilling 1-0 overtime loss against in-state rival UConn. Facing a team in Saint Joseph's, that has held its opponents to one goal a game, Saturday afternoon's contest shapes up to be a defensive showdown.
TOP STORYLINES HEADING INTO 2017
Saint Joseph's University Hawks (1-0-1)
Saturday, September 2, 2017 • 2:00 PM
Quinnipiac Soccer Turf Complex • Hamden, Conn.
All-Time Series vs. Saint Joseph's: First Ever Meeting
Game Links
After falling to Boston College and UConn on the road to start the 2017 season, the Quinnipiac men's soccer team will play host to Saint Joseph's University at 2 PM on Saturday in its brand-new soccer stadium. This will be the first regular-season game that the men's soccer team plays on the newly renovated Quinnipiac Soccer Turf Complex. The Bobcats opened the season with a 4-0 loss against B.C., followed by a thrilling 1-0 overtime loss against in-state rival UConn. Facing a team in Saint Joseph's, that has held its opponents to one goal a game, Saturday afternoon's contest shapes up to be a defensive showdown.
TOP STORYLINES HEADING INTO 2017
- The defending 2016 MAAC regular-season champion Quinnipiac men's soccer team was picked to finish first in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the conference office on Tuesday, Aug. 15. The Bobcats received seven first-place votes.
- The Bobcats return 17 letterwinners from a 13-win season, which resulted in a MAAC Tournament championship appearance.
- Saturday's contest will be the first time the men's soccer team will usher in its newly renovated 1,500 seat turf complex that formerly housed Quinnipiac's field hockey and lacrosse programs.
- Freshmen Simon Hillinger (Ditzingen, Germany) and Paulo Soares both made their collegiate debuts with the Bobcats in Quinnipiac's loss against B.C.\
- Saint Joseph's is led by Matt Crawford, who has scored all four of the Hawks' goals this season.
- Eamon Whelan (New Fairfield, Connecticut) headlines the returning class for Quinnipiac as he was selected to the 2017 Preseason All-MAAC Team following a 2016 campaign that saw him tally a team-high 11 goals.
- Whelan had a big impact last year as a freshman, winning the MAAC Rookie of the Year Award. He was also a Third-Team All-Northeast Region selection by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and was named to Top Drawer Soccer's Top 100 Freshmen list.
- James Doig (Liverpool, England) was a second-team All-MAAC selection last year after missing his junior season with an injury and taking a medical redshirt. He finished the year with three goals and four assists for 10 points, scoring in back-to-back MAAC wins over Iona and Monmouth. He was also a first-team All-MAAC selection in 2014, when he led the Bobcats with six assists, and was a MAAC All-Rookie team pick as a freshman in 2013. Doig has been a part of three MAAC regular season titles in his three active seasons with the Bobcats and was selected to the 2017 Preseason All-MAAC Team.
- The Bobcats will also rely on rising junior forward Rashawn Dally (Bloomfield, Connecticut) to aid Whelan and Doig in pacing the offense. Dally, who was named to the 2016 All-MAAC second team, scored four goals and led the team with five assists last season, while starting in all 20 games.
- Sophomores Conor McCoy (Newry, Northern Ireland) and Jeppe Haehre (Baerums Verk, Norway) were also named to the 2017 Preseason All-MAAC Team, as they had major impacts on Quinnipiac's success in their freshman seasons. As freshman, the duo stepped in at the two center back positions and solidified a Bobcat defense that had graduated all four starters off the 2015 team. McCoy added three goals on the season, including one in the MAAC Championship game against Rider, and was a first-team All-MAAC selection. Haehre joined McCoy on the All-MAAC first team, and also joined Whelan on the NSCAA All-Region third team and the Top Drawer Soccer Top 100 Freshmen.
- Chrysostomos Iakovidis (Thessaloniki, Greece), a former member of the Greece Under-16 and Under-17 national teams, was the lone goaltender named to the 2017 Preseason All-MAAC Team. Iakovidis emerged as Quinnipiac's starting goalkeeper last year as a freshman, earning a 12-5 record and a spot on the MAAC All-Rookie team. He had seven shutouts on the season, including five saves in the 1-0 win over Fairfield that clinched the regular season title for the Bobcats. He finished the year with an .805 save percentage and an even 1.00 goals against average in 17 starts.
Players Mentioned
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