WSOC NEC’s on the Bobcats Sports Network

WQAQ will take its broadcast on the road for the first time this season, when we bring to you the semifinals of the Women’s Soccer NEC Tournament from the campus of Central Connecticut State University.  You can hear tomorrow’s game between Quinnipiac and Monmouth on the WQAQ Soccer Stream.  Mike Radomski and Robin Schuppert will call all the action for you, with the opening kickoff scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Friday.  Then, at 6:00 p.m., head back to the soccer stream for the last Men’s Soccer regular season contest of the year.  That game will also be broadcast live from CCSU.

Bobcats in action all day today

We bring to you two games to  be broadcast on the Bobcats Sports Network presented by WQAQ today.  First, at 3:00 p.m., catch Men’s Soccer against Long Island University.  That game can be heard on the soccer stream, with Corey Hersch and Kyle Brennan on the call.  Later tonight, at 7:00 p.m., Women’s Hockey will be taking on the Niagra Purple Eagles.  Jamie Palatini and Brian Farrell will bring you all the action on the hockey stream.

Suprise Suprise…Bobcats Bully the Bulldogs

By Marc Schwartz

In the last home game of a six game home stand, the Quinnipiac University men’s soccer team easily handled the Bryant University Bulldogs with a score of 3-0. This easy win was thanks in large part to freshman forward Phil Suprise, who entered this afternoon’s game with 2 goals on the year, and exited with 5. With the win, Quinnipiac remains undefeated at 5-0-5, and 2-0-1 in the Northeast Conference. Bryant drops to 3-9-0 overall and 1-3-0 in the NEC.

In a season where the Bobcats have done a very good job of sharing the wealth on the offensive front, Suprise completely dominated the ball in this game against Bryant. The hat trick, Suprise’s first of his collegiate career, could have been added to later in the game if not for some off target shots.

His first goal of the afternoon came in the 13^th minute. The goal was unassisted, as Surprise kicked the ball hard along the left side of the field, inside of the 18, right at the kneeling keeper for Bryant. The ball then subsequently popped off his hands and trickled into the back of the net.

The second goal, in the 32^nd minute, was scored on a breakaway. Thanks to a beautiful clearing ball from Junior Nick Pelicaen, Suprise got the ball about 36 feet away from the net, already in front of three Bulldog defenders. Suprise continued to advance the ball until he got to the top of the 18 box, where he was met by the Bryant goaltender. Suprise easily fired the ball past him to get his second goal of the afternoon.

That goal helped cap off a dominating first half for the Bobcats. Freddy Hall was seldom challenged, as the Bobcats controlled the time of possession.

The second half was the same as the first, as Quinnipiac continued to fully control the game. With a two goal lead and less than 45 minutes to play, the Bobcats played with a high level of confidence as they have for most of the year. The second half against Bryant today was no exception to this trend, as the Bobcats got one final goal from Suprise, a slow bouncer that hopped past the fingertips of a diving Bryant keeper off of a beautiful cross from sophomore Durval Pereira in the 65^th minute.

“It felt really good to get that 3^rd goal,” said forward Phil Suprise after the game. “Phil put himself in great position,” head coach Eric Da Costa said when asked about Suprise’s hat trick performance.

Quinnipiac will attempt to continue their hot streak as they visit Boston College next Monday, October 12. “It’s great to leave the home stand with a win…we are pleased going forward,” Da Costa said after the game.

The next home game for the Bobcats will be October 23^rd against Long Island University. That game will be broadcast live online on the Bobcats Sports Network, presented by WQAQ.

Postgame interview audio now available

If you want to hear the post game audio from any Quinnipiac home games, just head to the Quinnipiac Athletics website, click on the “Photos and New Media” tab at the top of the page, and click on the appropriate sport. Recent uploads include interviews with;

Men’s soccer head coach Eric Da Costa and goalkeeper Freddy Hall following their 3-0 win over St. Francis (PA) this weekend.

Women’s ice hockey head coach Rick Seeley after their 4-1 season opening win against Sacred Heart

Coach Dave Clarke of the women’s soccer team discussing his team’s 1-0 double OT win over Bryant on Sunday Afternoon.

You can also subscribe to Quinnipiac athletics on iTunes and find these postgame interviews there as well.

- Jamie Palatini

Bobcats Shutout the Light of the Red Flash

By Marc Schwartz

October 4, 2009

HAMDEN – The Quinnipiac men’s soccer team was able to successfully bounce back from a disappointing tie against Robert Morris just two days ago, as they defeated the St. Francis (PA) Red Flash with a 3-0 win this afternoon.

After a game against Robert Morris in which the Bobcats struggled immensely on the offensive side of the ball, they put out their best offensive effort of the season. St. Francis controlled the time of possession for the first 15 minutes, but after that Quinnipiac took over.

QU’s first goal of the afternoon came on a one-timer off a free kick in the left corner of the field from sophomore Durval Pereira to junior midfielder Dominic Adams in the 20^th minute. The ball sailed over a large group of St. Francis (PA) defenders and Quinnipiac players to the conveniently placed right foot of Adams at the top right corner of the 18, and Adams’ deflection slid past the diving St. Francis goalkeeper It was Adams’s first goal of the season, and it gave Quinnipiac the early 1-0 lead which they held going into the second half.

In the 51^st minute of the game, Adams found himself in the middle of the action once again. He was awarded a penalty kick as he was tackled inside of the St. Francis (PA) box. Senior defenseman Pierre Soubrier took the kick and was able to knock the ball past the Red Flash keeper to give the Bobcats the 2-0 edge. The keeper responded with an unsportsmanlike conduct yellow card, one of a total 4 yellow cards in the game, 3 of which were unsportsmanlike conduct cards.

The Bobcats capped the scoring in the 65^th minute when freshman forward Phil Suprise was able dribble the ball around a couple of defenders to the top of the 18 box. Suprise then fired a shot off of his left foot past the diving keeper into the back of the net for his second goal of the season

The game ended with a bang for the Bobcats when the Red Flash were awarded a penalty kick with only six seconds remaining in the game. But Quinnipiac senior goalkeeper Freddy Hall dove to his right and made a phenomenal save, then punted the ball up into the sky as the horn sounded. It was Hall’s fifth shutout of the season, and Quinnipiac came away with the 3-0 victory.

Quinnipiac head coach Eric Da Costa was very pleased with his team’s effort, saying he was “thrilled by the clean sheet” that the team put up. Overall, it was a solid effort put forth by the Bobcats, who dominated offensively and defensively, along with brilliant goalkeeping by Freddy Hall.

Da Costa’s squad will look to stay undefeated when close out a six-game home stand against Bryant University on October 9. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live online on the Bobcats Sports Network, presented by WQAQ.

QU Remains Undefeated in a Disappointing Effort

By Marc Schwartz

October 3, 2009

HAMDEN – The Quinnipiac men’s soccer team opened up their conference schedule this past Friday against Robert Morris at home. The Bobcats entered the game 3-0-4, while Robert Morris was 0-9. This was a game in which the Bobcats were looking to get their conference schedule off to a good start. Unfortunately for Quinnipiac, a subpar effort resulted in a disappointing outcome.

Quinnipiac opened up the game on this cloudy, cool Friday afternoon with some solid play. “We started the first 15 minutes strong, but then we slowed down from there. We stooped down to their level of play,” freshman defenseman Greg DiGiovine said.

This was exactly the case, as the Robert Morris Colonials slowly but surely got the time of possession in their favor as the first half continued. Thanks to a brilliant diving save by Bobcat keeper Freddy Hall in the 34^th minute, Quinnipiac was able to head into the half tied with the Colonials, though at halftime one not sure what the records of each team were might have thought that Robert Morris was the undefeated team.

Despite the numerous, sporadic offensive spurts, the Bobcats were not able to notch a goal against Robert Morris in the second half. This lack of offensive production, which has plagued Quinnipiac throughout the entire season, continued through the first and second overtimes as the game ended in a 0-0 tie.

“The outcome was not what we were looking for…it felt like a loss to us” stated DiGiovine.

The Bobcats were easily the favorites going into this matchup against the Colonials. A game considered an “easy win” turned into a disappointing tie. Though they remain undefeated, Quinnipiac was obviously not happy with their effort.

Quinnipiac looks to improve their NEC conference record on Sunday at noon, when they take on St. Francis (PA). The game will be broadcast over the WQAQ Soccer Stream, as Alex Birsh and Robin Schuppert will bring the call on the Bobcats Sports Network, presented by WQAQ.

Men’s Soccer Hosts Stony Brook at 4 PM

Quinnipiac’s men’s soccer team will look to continue their undefeated start this afternoon when they host Stony Brook at 4 PM at Bobcat Field in Hamden. Miles McQuiggan and Andrew Gau will provide the call live on the Soccer Sports Stream, with the broadcast starting at approximately 3:55 PM.

Athlete of the Year: Graciano Brito

By Tyler Chaput

Senior soccer player, Graciano Brito, has been selected as the 2008-2009 WQAQ Sports Department Athlete of the Year. Brito was named the Northeast Conference’s Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.

On his way to earning the award, Brito established himself as the most prolific scorer in Quinnipiac Division I history with a total of 40 goals and 92 points.

This past season alone saw Brito tally a record 18 goals and 39 points.

His tremendous combination of size and speed was unmatched by any defender, or any player at all, in the entire conference.

The WQAQ Sports Department admires everything Brito has done for Quinnipiac and the men’s soccer program. We wish him the best with any future endeavors, whether it involves soccer or not.

Athlete of the Semester: Graciano Brito

Photo Credit: QuinnipiacBobcats.com

By Steven Ceruti

Add another accolade to the illustrious college career of men’s soccer forward Graciano Brito. After winning his second straight NEC Player of the Year award Brito is the pick for WQAQ Athlete of the Semester after he lead the Bobcats to the NEC playoffs and set a Quinnipiac single-season Division I record for goals and points in a season.

The co-captain of the team was clearly the leader and came up clutch for the Bobcats all season long, whether it was a big goal or fighting through all the double teams he faced all year long. Graciano was clearly head and shoulders above the rest when it came to performance and constantly reminded opponents of his serious speed and goal scoring ability. Brito, who played and started in all 19 of the Bobcats games this season, tallied 18 goals and three assists to give him 39 points on the year. The senior’s play all year long was what enabled Quinnipiac to make a postseason run. His value couldn’t have been on display more than in the Bobcats’ final game of the season against Mount St. Mary’s, a game which they needed to win. Brito scored two goals in the 3-0 victory, propelling Quinnipiac to the NEC tournament.

He will certainly be missed by Coach Eric Da Costa and by all his teammates next season but all were glad to have played alongside him. Coming into the year, he knew he had the chance to do something special but he would also face the best defenses his opponents could throw at him. However, he fought through the adversity and when teams double and triple teamed him, it opened up more opportunities for his teammates to show what they could do and he had confidence they could get the job done.

Brito has also recently been named to the NEC all-tournament team along with his teammate Freddy Hall, an award he was very much deserving of. Graciano finishes his Quinnipiac career with 40 goals and 92 points, both Bobcat Division I records and the 10-win season he was a part of is something he was very proud of. Brito will go down as one of the greatest players in Quinnipiac history, Northeast Conference history and he will undoubtedly have a bright future ahead of him. We wish him the best of luck and thank him for his hard work and great play over his four years here at Quinnipiac University.

Bobcats’ season ends with semifinal loss to FDU

By Jamie Palatini

(HAMDEN, Conn.) – Junior forward Samson Maljani’s goal early in the first half proved to be the difference maker, as the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights defeated Quinnipiac’s men’s soccer team 2-0 in the semifinals of the Northeast Conference Tournament, ending the Bobcats’ playoff run. With the loss, the Bobcats end the season with an overall record of 10-5-4. FDU advances to the NEC championship game where they’ll play the fourth seeded Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers, who upset the top seeded Monmouth Hawks earlier in the afternoon.

Despite the loss, Quinnipiac head coach Eric Da Costa was proud of his team’s effort against a very talented FDU squad.

“These moments are never easy,” Da Costa said. “We wanted more out of today and played well enough to win, but Fairleigh Dickinson is a good team and very deserving.”

The Knights jumped on the board at the 14 minute mark of the first half. Maljani received a pass at the top of the box from teammate Serge Zulu. He spun and fired a shot into the upper right corner that eluded Quinnipiac goalkeeper Freddy Hall to give FDU the 1-0 advantage. The goal was the first that Hall had allowed in over 369 minutes.

With their one-goal lead, FDU sat back and stifled the Bobcats’ offense. Quinnipiac had three shots on goal in the first half, none of which troubled FDU goalkeeper Majdi Zaineh. NEC Player of the Year Graciano Brito was draped with two or three Knights’ defenders every time he touched the ball and was only able two shots on goal.

FDU sealed the fate of the Bobcats with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game. Following a Quinnipiac foul, the Knights had a free kick just outside the penalty box, and made the most of it. Fernando Huthmacher took the free kick and Zulu, whose shot made it past a diving Hall to give the Knights the two goal lead.

With the season ending on Friday, the Bobcats lost more than just the game. They said goodbye to a player who has been one of the most prolific scorers in the NEC in Graciano Brito. Over his four-year career, Brito tallied 40 goals and 92 points, both of which are Quinnipiac records. This year he also broke the school’s single-season scoring record with 18 goals, topping the mark of 17 set by Everson Marciel in 2001.

Although Quinnipiac will lose Brito next season, things aren’t as bad as they may seem for Eric Da Costa’s team. They’ll return the rest of their starters for the 2009 season when they’ll look to build off of this season’s success.

Click here to view the box score from this game.