HAMDEN, Conn. – The Quinnipiac men's soccer program and head coach
Eric Da Costa have announced the Bobcats' full 2019 schedule – a 17-game slate that features eight contests at the QU Soccer Stadium in Hamden.
Quinnipiac will open the season against an ACC foe on August 30 at Boston College, marking the 11th-straight season that the Bobcats and Eagles will face off in non-conference action. The Bobcats' home opener comes just one week later against Sacred Heart on Sept. 6, and the program will begin MAAC play on Oct. 2 vs. Saint Peter's in Hamden.
"We are looking forward to competing again this fall after a long break," Da Costa said. "Our schedule is always a challenge and this year will be no different. We have been motivated throughout this break by the way things ended last season, and we're anxious to start our new journey in 2019. It is always exciting to add a new class to the group and we're ready integrate them into our system and see them contribute to the team."
The program's non-conference schedule features four games vs. opponents that finished 2018 with a Top 100 RPI ranking: New Hampshire (No. 23), Vermont (No. 57), UMass Lowell (No. 95) and Boston College (No. 98). The Bobcats will play four America East teams, two NEC programs and one ACC team.
Following the season opener at Boston College (Aug. 30), Quinnipiac will travel to UMass Lowell (Sept. 2) for its first 2019 game vs. an America East opponent. The Bobcats then return home for two games vs. Sacred Heart (Sept. 6) and Vermont (Sept. 9), followed by two more road games at Albany (Sept. 15) and CCSU (Sept. 20) before wrapping up the non-conference slate vs. New Hampshire at home.
Quinnipiac's MAAC schedule features five home and five away games, as the Bobcats won't have consecutive home or away games throughout league play. The program begins conference action with a pair of games vs. programs that won five MAAC games each in 2018 – vs. Saint Peter's (Oct. 2) and at Manhattan (Oct. 5). Quinnipiac then returns home to take on Marist (Oct. 9) before traveling to Niagara (Oct. 12) just three days later. The Bobcats host Canisius (Oct. 19), travel to Monmouth (Oct. 23), host Iona (Oct. 26) and travel to Siena (Oct. 30) in 2019. The program's last home game of the regular season comes vs. Fairfield (Nov. 2) – the 2018 MAAC Regular Season Champions. Quinnipiac wraps up the regular season away at Rider (Nov. 6) in a rematch of the 2018 MAAC Men's Soccer Championship.
2018 was another successful season for the Bobcats, who went 8-1-1 in MAAC action to earn the No. 2 seed in the postseason conference tournament. Quinnipiac downed Marist in the MAAC semifinals after 10 rounds of penalty kicks on Nov. 8, then fell in the title contest vs. Rider.
Since joining the MAAC prior to the 2013 season, Quinnipiac has appeared in three MAAC Tournament title contests (2013, 2016, 2018). Under Head Coach Da Costa's tutelage, the Bobcats have posted an impressive 37-13-10 mark in regular season MAAC games, going 51-43-30 over the last six seasons in total.
To view the full 2019 Quinnipiac men's soccer schedule,
CLICK HERE.
For more updates regarding Quinnipiac men's soccer, follow the program on Twitter and Instagram at @QU_MSOC.