Photo Courtesy of QU Athletics

By Connor Fortier

The Bobcat’s surprised every team in the MAAC in their 2013-2014 campaign by winning the conference in just their first year in the MAAC. After some roster retooling in the offseason by head coach Eric Da Costa, the Bobcats look forward to what could be one of the hardest schedules in program history.

The challenging schedule begins with an away match at Northwestern University, a team that earned an at-large bid into the 2013 NCAA Tournament. The Northwestern match will be a huge first test for the Bobcats as it will be the team’s first its highest scorer from the year before in Simon Hind. However, the team still has their dominant back line and the 2013 MAAC Goalkeeper of the year in Borja Angoita to rely on. This match will be one where that incredibly talented back line of Stevenson Hawkey, Tobias Esche, Ashton Pett, and Erik Panzer will be tested heavily. A good team like Northwestern will want to pressure the Bobcats from all areas of the field and the backs will take the brunt of that pressure. This challenge right out of the gate is key for the Bobcats defense. If they fall behind early in the match, it could affect the way they play, not only for the rest of the match, but also for the upcoming non-conference schedule.

After going through the entire non-conference schedule and most of the conference schedule, the next key match that the Bobcats will play in will be on Nov. 1 at Iona College. The Bobcats defeated the Gaels in the semi-finals of the MAAC playoffs last year in penalty kicks 1-1. The Gaels have returning standout goalkeeper Julian Petrello, who made 10 saves in that 1-1 loss, and Ignacio Maganto, who tallied 21 points in his junior year. Not only is it a key match because it is against one of the top teams in the conference but also because of the timing of the match. It is the second to last match of the regular season and could have major implications on seeding for the MAAC playoffs. Quinnipiac and Iona both finished in the top 3 in the MAAC last year with Iona only trailing Quinnipiac and co-regular season champion Monmouth by one point. Any result here could mean a regular season title or a third place finish if the race is that close again in the 2014-2015 season.

Although it could be a challenge to start, the Bobcats are set to defend their conference championship and it could all start and end with these two games.

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