QU Men's Soccer Drops MAAC Opener, 1-0, in OT vs. Niagara

Sunday, September 25

Hamden, Conn.

2:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

4-5, 0-1MAAC

Niagara University

2-5-1, 1-0MAAC

OT 1

Niagara

Quinnipiac

QU Men's Soccer Drops MAAC Opener, 1-0, in OT vs. Niagara

9/25/2016 5:53:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

By: QU Sports Information

HAMDEN, Connecticut – Quinnipiac men's soccer fell in its MAAC opener to Niagara, 1-0, in overtime on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016 at the QU Soccer Field. The Bobcats fall to 4-5 (0-1-0 MAAC) with the loss, while Niagara improves to 2-5-1 (1-0-0 MAAC) with the win.

Quinnipiac outshot its opponent 12-7, but Niagara sophomore Bautista Pedezert's overtime goal off a free kick helped the Purple Eagles escape with the win.

"It's a conference game, it's a clean slate. Everybody is looking to do what Niagara did today, and that's pick up as many points as possible," Quinnipiac head coach Eric Da Costa said. "It's about getting results now. So when you dominate possession during the game that much you have to put your foot on the gas an try to get a win out of it."

The Bobcats had possession for a majority of the first half, but didn't get their first great scoring chance until 37:15 into the game. Max Rothenbuecher (Munich, Germany), with possession inside the box, crossed the ball over to Ryan Scheiderman (Brick, NJ) in front of an open net. Scheiderman tried to one-time it into the back of the net, but his shot went just high of the goal to keep the game tied 0-0.

The Bobcats outshot Niagara 6-0 in the first half.

Quinnipiac had another good chance to end the game with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. Matthew Taylor (Dublin, Ireland) gathered the ball in a crowded box and fired toward the net, but the ball went just wide of Niagara's goal to ultimately forced overtime.

Pedezert netted the Purple Eagles' lone goal 5:39 into overtime. He belted a free kick into the back of the net from 30 yards out to give Niagara its second win of the 2016 season. Quinnipiac goalkeeper Chrysostomos Iakovidis (Thessaloniki, Greece) tried to make a diving stop, but was unable to get a hand on the shot – which went through a crowded box. Iakovidis made five saves in net for the Bobcats' in the loss.

Quinnipiac will look to bounce back on Saturday, Oct. 1, as it travels to Marist for a 7 p.m. kickoff from Poughkeepsie, New York.