Photo courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics
By: Andrew Badillo
From 2012-2014, Quinnipiac men’s soccer rattled off three straight conference regular season championships, including the MAAC Championship in 2013. The string of success ended last season as the Bobcats went 2-11-6 and left supporters puzzled. How could a team that was so dominant experience such a sudden drop-off? Quinnipiac head coach Eric da Costa attributes the team’s struggles to growing pains.
“Last year was certainly a transition year for us,” Da Costa said. The Bobcats lost their two most important players from 2014 in leading goal scorer Machel Baker and goalkeeper Borja Angoita. Both players brought results on the field and on the stat sheet and Quinnipiac was never able to fill the void last season and as a result failed to make it past the second round of the MAAC Tournament.
The 2016 season is the second phase of the transition process for Da Costa and his squad, who were picked to finish seventh in the MAAC preseason poll. With 13 newcomers and a bunch of players looking to make their marks, the season outlook is extremely unpredictable. The Bobcats have some major question marks surrounding who will be starting in goal.
Goaltender Situation:
Quinnipiac returns two goaltenders in Brian Westerman and Chris Dattalo. Out of the two, Westerman is the only one who has seen playing time. Former goaltender Triston Henry had one more year of eligibility, but chose to forgo it and graduate.
Da Costa has brought in two more keepers in freshmen Chrysostomos Iakovidis and Zach Federowicz. Iakovidis has international experience representing Greece at the U-16 and U-17 level. Federowicz was a three-time Connecticut All-State team selection in high school.
This will be quite the decision for Da Costa, who hasn’t had a goaltender competition in quite some time. Westerman is entering his fourth year and knows this team as well as anyone. But, the two incoming freshman do boast impressive resumes, most notably the Greek national Iakovidis.
Back Line:
The only returner who logged significant minutes last season is MAAC rookie team member Oscar Evans. This is the least experienced defensive core, including in goal, that Da Costa has had in awhile. Liam O’Sullivan is another returner who will be an important player on the back line, but he has played sporadically in his first three seasons. Da Costa will most certainly be using his scrimmages and non-conference slate to mix and match his defensive unit. He did it much of last season to no avail.
Rashawn Dally:
There is so much promise in this sophomore forward. Dally was selected to represent Jamaica at the U-20 level earlier this summer, experience Da Costa believes will greatly benefit Dally.
“I think that experience will certainly help him going into the fall,” Da Costa said. “I think the confidence that he gained from being selected as one of the top players in his country is something that hopefully carries over and helps him to continue to produce in his sophomore year.”
Dally only scored one goal in his debut season, but the Bobcats weren’t exactly filling up the score sheet. Injuries in the midfield, most notably James Doig, hampered ball possession and as a result limited opportunities for Dally. If he can continue to develop the way Da Costa believes he can, the Bobcats could find themselves with the offensive threat that was absent last season.
This is the deepest team Da Costa has had in a few years and he believes there will be competition at multiple positions. With a huge crop of underclassmen Da Costa has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal, but finding the right starting 11 could be his biggest challenge in quite some time.
The Bobcats kick-off the regular season on August 26 when they play host to the Boston College Eagles.
