Video by: Dylan Fearon
Article by: Chris Dacey
BRONX, NEW YORK – Eric Da Costa and his Quinnipiac men’s soccer team squeaked out a 1-0 win over the second place team in the MAAC, Manhattan, on Saturday. The lone goal came from sophomore forward Eamon Whelan, his first of the season.
“Obviously we came in here knowing that they are on the top of the table and we wanted the three points and we weren’t gonna leave here without three points,” Whelan said.
The former MAAC rookie of the year’s first goal came pretty deep into the 2017 schedule due to some groin problems he has dealt with most of the season. But nothing showed on Saturday as the sophomore played about 75 minutes and made some plays to help the Bobcats earn their third MAAC win.
“He’s a big part of our team but the combination of him and Rashawn Dally is important,” Da Costa said. “Those guys today showed how valuable they are to the team.”
Whelan, who lead the Bobcats last year with 11 goals and 22 points, finished the match with a total of four shots. Two of his strikes were on goal, including the lone goal of the game that went in off the Matthew Taylor assist.
“This year has been a little tough not all the balls have gone in so you gotta start with one so, there it was,” Whelan said.
It wasn’t just himself and his coach that noticed Whalen’s play on the field either. Graduate captain James Doig was happy to see Whelan back on the field and back to his scoring ways.
“It was massive for Eamon to get that goal tonight,” Doig said. “Hopefully its gonna boost his confidence and he will take it into stride going into the next couple of games because we are going to need him.”
The win at Manhattan puts the Bobcats’ conference record at 3-3-0 with four games left before the MAAC Tournament that starts on Nov. 5.
As of right now Quinnipiac is in fifth place in the conference, however the team is only three points behind second place Manhattan.
“As of right now, the only objective when you get into league play is to pick up three points,” Da Costa said. “And the situation we found ourselves in coming in we had to pick up three points.”
The preseason MAAC favorite now finds itself having to fight its way into the postseason tournament. Quinnipiac is on the verge of making it, and DaCosta knows how important three points in the MAAC really are.
“We know that three points in this league is extremely valuable and that only six teams make the playoffs and only two teams get a bye,” Da Costa said. “You’re fighting for a lot of things and every year it goes down to the last game of the season.”
There is something that the Bobcats are looking forward to after the big win on the road: it might just be something that make them stick out on the Mount Carmel campus in the weeks to come.
“We are due some new Adidas gear so hopefully it gets delivered on time,” Da Costa said.
The Bobcats will be back on the pitch next Saturday Oct. 21 as Marist comes to Hamden. The Red Foxes will try to get even with the Bobcats in the standings with a win of their own.
*This post was updated with video on October 16 at 4:37 p.m.
