By Morey Hershgordon
Three consecutive regular-season conference championships has the Quinnipiac men’s soccer program rising as one of the premier soccer teams in the New England region.
On Monday night, it continued to live up to its billing.
Quinnipiac battled in-state foe Connecticut for 110 minutes resulting in a scoreless tie in front of a sold-out crowd of 5,100 people at Joseph R. Morrone stadium.
“We constantly talk about trying to elevate our program and take it to that next level, that next tier,” head coach Eric Da Costa said. “Games like today, games like Boston College and games coming up like St. Johns (NY) and Brown these are games that we make sure we not only compete but have opportunities to win.”
While the Bobcats didn’t have many great chances to score, there were several bright spots.
Tobi Esche, the anchor of the Quinnipiac defense, displayed poise and leadership down the stretch to guide his team to register one point. The captain showcased skills that range from marking opposition on set pieces to clearing through-balls with precision as well as intercepting passes from behind while he orchestrated a suffocating defense with brand new teammates.
Freshman Oscar Evans and junior Mikail Ellis, a transfer from the University of Texas-Brownsville played in just their second game in a Bobcat uniform. Add Stevenson Hawkey who missed most of last year with an injury and Esche hasn’t played consistent minutes with any of his line mates.
“He’s the man. He wears an armband for a reason,” Da Costa said. “As he goes, we go. I think Tobi is a positive reflection of what we want our program to look like. He’s got those natural characteristics and nothing is ever forced. He’s a winner and he’s a competitor and it doesn’t matter if it’s a recovery day in practice or UConn under the lights, he brings it all the time. Hopefully that’s contagious and can spread across the team.”
Along with the defensive unit, Da Costa was pleased with the performance of some newcomers.
“Rashawn (Dally) had a really positive impact on the game and Colton (Grob) gives us what he gives us, a ton of energy and some skill to go along with that.”
Both freshmen recorded a shot, two of the five that Quinnipiac had the entire contest.
For UConn, it recorded 12 shots, many coming inside the box. But for new goalie Triston Henry, his first clean sheet as a Bobcat could not have come at a better time against his former team.
He was lauded by his coaches after tremendous saves for his positioning as well as his ball distribution to his teammates up field.
Henry admitted he was extremely nervous before the game, but once the game started he was ready to go.
This is exactly what Da Costa is looking for early on in the season. He plays a tough out-of-conference schedule to help his team gear up for conference play. And with each game, hopes to find small improvements.
“We keep talking about doing better today than we did yesterday,” he said. “Our objective was to have a better performance today than we did against Boston College. At the end of the day we had a really good performance at BC, we probably had some better runs of play than we did tonight, but we lost one nil. And today we kept a clean sheet. It’s a step in the right direction. Um, maybe a diagonal step. But a step forward.”
Notes:
- With 3:31 remaining in regulation, UConn’s Jake Nerwinski delivered a perfect one-touch pass to Kwame Awuah who shot wide left of the goal. The strike from about 10 yards wasn’t close at all.
- With 2:43 left in the second overtime, Hawkey made a game-saving decision. After recognizing he wasn’t going to track down a UConn forward he held him with both arms, resulting in a yellow card, to prevent the Husky from a potential goal-scoring opportunity.
- Shaquille Huggins and James Doig provided a security blanket. Keep an eye on the sophomore and junior as the season progresses. They have a chance to be one of the best midfield duos in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
- Joe Da Graca played well. The midfielder had only played in three career games entering Monday night, but held his own using his improved body strength to shield defenders.
- A starting lineup for the MAAC season has yet to be announced, but Da Costa is comfortable with his bench players saying that he’s very happy to have the depth at his disposal.
- Quinnipiac welcomes Brown on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m.
