Quinnipiac and Rider Advance to Sunday’s Men’s Soccer Championship Game
No. 2 Quinnipiac University 3 | No. 3 Marist College 3 -- Quinnipiac advances 8-7 on penalty kicks
MAAC Men’s Soccer Semifinal
Quinnipiac Soccer Stadium | Hamden, CT
No. 2 Quinnipiac University (10-5-3) needed a 10-round penalty kick shootout to top No. 3 Marist College (8-5-5) to advance to the Men’s Soccer Championship Game on Sunday. The Bobcats advanced 8-7 on penalties when Oriac Villa Rotzes netted the decisive shot from the spot. Quinnipiac will play for the MAAC title for the second time in three seasons.
Quinnipiac Notes
• The Bobcats trailed 2-0 before All-MAAC First Team selection Rashawn Dally scored in the 40th minute. The goal was his sixth of the season.
• Eamon Whelan—the 2018 Offensive Player of the Year—tied the score at two inside the first two minutes of the second half.
• Jeppe Haehre scored his first of the season in the 83rd minute to give Quinnipiac its only lead.
• Goalkeeper Jared Mazzola (9-3-1) made seven stops in goal.
• Quinnipiac will make its third appearance in the championship game since 2013.
• The Bobcats are unbeaten in their last six, which is their second six-game unbeaten run this season.
Marist Notes
• The Red Foxes got first-half goals from Samad Bounthong and Marcus Ginman to take a 2-0 lead.
• Beau Hornberger scored his third goal of the season in the 85th minute to tie the game 3-3 and force overtime.
• Bounthong finished the season with six goals and three assists for 15 points. The junior led Marist in goals.
• Ryan Sinnott (8-3-5) made four saves in goal.
• The Red Foxes had a 20-13 advantage in shots and a 10-7 lead in shots on goal.
No. 5 Rider University 2 | No. 1 Fairfield University 0
MAAC Men’s Soccer Semifinal
Lessing Field | Fairfield, CT
In a rematch of last season’s championship game, No. 5 Rider University (9-9-1) won 2-0 at No. 1 Fairfield University (11-5-2). The win was the second road win of the MAAC Championship for the Broncs and advances them to their fourth-straight championship game on Sunday.
Rider Notes
• Rider seeks a third title in the last four seasons. The Broncs won back-to-back championships in 2015 and 2016. Rider beat Quinnipiac for the title in 2016.
• Elliott Otmani—All-MAAC Second Team—and Mathis Catanzaro scored second-half goals.
• Otmani also assisted on Catanzaro’s goal to finish the night with three points. The graduate student became the third Rider player in history to reach 30 goals and 20 assists in a career (Craig Wicken, Bobby Smith).
• Pablo Gatinois made two stops to pick up his sixth clean sheet.
• Rider held a 13-9 lead in shots and a 7-2 edge in shots on goal.
Fairfield Notes
• The Stags hit the crossbar twice in the opening 45 minutes while the game was still scoreless.
• The loss is the first for Fairfield since September 22 against Saint Joseph’s, which was also 2-0.
• Gordon Botterill made five stops in goal for Fairfield.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 38th year of competition during the 2018-19 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University, and Siena College.