Bobcats Host Monmouth in MAAC Championship Match Saturday Afternoon

Saturday, April 17

Hamden, Conn.

3:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

#6 Monmouth

Photo by: Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com

Bobcats Host Monmouth in MAAC Championship Match Saturday Afternoon

4/16/2021 11:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

No. 1 Quinnipiac & No. 6 Monmouth Battle at 3:05 PM (Live on ESPN+)

By: QU Athletic Communications

#1 Quinnipiac (7-1, 5-1 MAAC) vs. #6 Monmouth (4-2-1, 2-2-1 MAAC)
Saturday, April 17, 2021 | 3:05 PM
QU Soccer Stadium | Hamden, Conn.
Watch (ESPN+) | Watch (International) | Live Stats

HAMDEN, Conn. – On Saturday afternoon, the QU Soccer Stadium will play host to the 2021 MAAC Championship.

The No. 1 Bobcats welcome No. 6 Monmouth at 3:05 PM, with a trip the the NCAA Tournament on the line.

HISTORY OF EXCELLENCE

Head Coach Eric Da Costa has guided the men's soccer program to 123 wins over 16 seasons. Quinnipiac is an impressive 49-17-11 in MAAC regular season games, dating back to when the Bobcats joined the conference ahead of 2013.
Quinnipiac went 5-1-0 in league play this year, winning the regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the postseason tournament.
The Bobcats have won five regular season titles in the last nine years. Quinnipiac was crowned regular season champion of the NEC in 2012, then earned the top seed in the MAAC in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2020-21.
Quinnipiac has now advanced to the championship round of the postseason conference tournament in four of eight seasons since joining the MAAC (2013, 2016, 2018, 2021).
The Bobcats will aim for their second-ever MAAC title on Saturday. The program also won the MAAC championship in 2013, advancing to the NCAA Tournament.

NATIONAL RECOGNITION

Following a pair of MAAC Tournament wins over the last week, Quinnipiac men's soccer (7-1, 5-1 MAAC) continues to receive national recognition for its spring 2021 success.
The Bobcats have received votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll – which recognizes the top Division I programs in the nation. The program received three total votes in the poll, finishing just outside the Top 25 nationally.
Full United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll: CLICK HERE

LAST TIME OUT: VICTORY IN SEMIFINALS

Tomas Svecula and Brage Aasen each scored a goal, lifting the Bobcats past Fairfield by the final score of 2-1 on Wednesday (4/14) at the QU Soccer Stadium.
Quinnipiac has now advanced to the championship round of the postseason conference tournament in four of eight seasons since joining the MAAC (2013, 2016, 2018, 2021).
The Bobcats will aim for their second-ever MAAC title on Saturday. The program also won the MAAC championship in 2013, advancing to the NCAA Tournament.

MAAC QUARTERFINALS: W vs. SIENA

David Bercedo scored in the 78^th minute to break a scoreless tie, leading No. 1 Quinnipiac men's soccer past No. 8 Siena on Sunday afternoon in the quarterfinal round of the 2021 MAAC Tournament.
Domen Bozic played the ball in toward the box to Bercedo – who took one touch, turned and blasted a shot into the left side of the net for the game-winning goal.
With the win, the Bobcats will advance to the semifinal round of the postseason tournament. No. 1 Quinnipiac will take on No. 5 Fairfield at the QU Soccer Stadium in Hamden.
Head Coach Eric Da Costa and the Bobcats have now advanced to the semifinal round of the MAAC Tournament seven separate times (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020-21)

BALANCED ATTACK

Quinnipiac's 18 goals have come from nine different scorers so far in the spring 2021 campaign. Brage Aasen has scored five times – all of which have come in the last four matches. David Bercedo and Tomas Svecula have each scored three times, Alex Holle scored twice, and five other Bobcats have tallied goals.
11 different Bobcats have registered a point.
QU has 16 goals over its last six MAAC wins.
The Bobcats have assisted on 16 of 18 goals. Aasen has a team-high four helpers.

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE

The Bobcats defense earned two straight shutouts to begin the spring season. Quinnipiac has surrendered just eight goals in eight games this spring
QU's group has allowed just 112 total shots over eight games.
Senior Jared Mazzola has two shutouts already. The Bobcats' goalkeeper was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Week on March 23 for his efforts thus far. He made a pair of saves in QU's latest MAAC Semifinals win over Fairfield.
First-year student Antreas Hadjigavriel has also recorded a shutout in each of his last two appearances. He has nine saves over four games played this year. Hadjigavriel earned a win in QU's MAAC Quarterfinals win over Siena (4/11).
Junior Jordon Bennett (707 minutes played) and first-year Luke Allen (718 minutes) have led the Bobcats' back line in front of the keepers. Bennett and Allen rank No. 2 / No. 1 on the team in minutes played.
Senior captain Paulo Soares has played 668 minutes on the pitch – which ranks No. 3 on the team. Soares has one goal and two assists for four points, starting in all eight matches.

HEAD COACH ERIC DA COSTA

Head Coach Eric Da Costa has a 123-110-52 record during his time at Quinnipiac, and has led the Bobcats to a postseason conference tournament appearance in nine straight seasons (2012 in the NEC, 2013-current in the MAAC).
Since joining the MAAC prior to the 2013 season, Quinnipiac has appeared in three MAAC Tournament title contests (2013, 2016, 2018). Under Da Costa's tutelage, the Bobcats have posted an impressive 49-17-11 mark in regular season MAAC games.

MAAC PRESEASON POLL

Quinnipiac was tabbed No. 2 in the 2020-21 MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the league office on Tuesday, Feb. 16.
The Bobcats received 111 total points in the coaches' poll – just one point behind Saint Peter's for the top spot. Quinnipiac earned five first-place votes, while Saint Peter's garnered six.

2019 SEASON

Quinnipiac continued its success as a program in 2019, as the Bobcats went 7-2-1 in league play to earn the No. 2 seed in the MAAC Tournament.
The program went 9-6-3 overall, winning six of its last eight games to conclude the regular season schedule.
The Bobcats advanced to the MAAC semifinals, falling vs. Iona.
Tomas Svecula recorded 16 points during his first campaign with the Bobcats, earning MAAC Rookie of the Year honors. Svecula became the second player in program history to win the league's Rookie of the Year award, as Eamon Whelan earned the honor after scoring 11 goals as a first-year student in 2016.
Svecula, Brage Aasen and Henry Weigand earned All-Rookie status for the Bobcats, as well, marking the first time Quinnipiac has placed three or more student-athletes on the All-Rookie team since 2016 (Chrysostomos Iakovidis, Jeppe Haehre, Conor McCoy, Eamon Whelan).
The Bobcats earned eight total honors in the conference's All-MAAC Awards. Eamon Whelan was named to the All-MAAC First Team, while Romain Daniellou, Conor McCoy and Jared Mazzola were selected to the All-MAAC Second Team.