HAMDEN, Conn. – In the team’s first MAAC game of the season, the Purple Eagles men’s soccer team and the Quinnipiac Bobcats played 90 scoreless minutes before heading to overtime. In the 96th minute, Bautista Pedezert fired a long free kick into the right side of the net. The golden goal gave Niagara its first win over Quinnipiac in men’s soccer program history.
Quinnipiac dictated the flow of the offense through 45 minutes of play, holding a 6-0 edge in shots at halftime. The Bobcats put four of those shots on goal, and Steve Casey was up to the task of stopping each of them. Following a corner kick from Josh Tufino, Shiquan Lowe put the first shot of the game on goal for Niagara just 1:15 into the second half. Quinnipiac came right back in the 51st minute as Shaquille Huggins launched a shot on goal that was denied by Casey.
Sergio Lujan, Bautista Pedezert, and Josh Tufino all had scoring chances in the second half, but Quinnipiac goalkeeper Chrysostomos Iakovidis turned them all away, finishing regulation with five saves. In the first overtime period, Niagara held Quinnipiac without a shot while registering two of their own. Hector Solorio Villalpando had the first chance in the 93rd minute, but his shot sailed high. Following a yellow card to Quinnipiac, Bautista Pedezert lined up 25 yards out from the middle of the goal for a free kick. With Niagara’s set piece off to the right of the net, Pedezert ripped his free kick chance right on goal, and the shot beat Iakovidis to the far side, giving Niagara the 1-0 victory.
NU Head Coach Bill Boyle said, “Today, we showed tremendous resilience! We never gave up and it wasn’t a pretty game, but we stuck together and kept fighting. We started to figure it out toward the middle of the second half and took care of a set piece. This is a huge road win for us against a very good team.”
The Purple Eagles hit the road again on Saturday for a 1 p.m. matchup at Rider. After that, Niagara is back home to host Siena next Oct. 5.
from PurpleEagles.com via IFTTT
