The Boston College men’s soccer team hoped to add another win to its 1-0-1 regular season at the expense of winless Quinnipiac on Thursday. The Eagles would see that goal accomplished as they travelled to Hamden, Conn. to meet the Bobcats.
The Eagles were slow to start in their first real away game of the season, finding themselves outshot three-to-one in the first 40 minutes before their first goal was scored. It was followed by a second in 84th minute to end the day 2-0 in the Eagles’ favor.
Junior Derrick Boateng was the first to find the back of the net at 41:27 to give his team the lead and record his first goal of the season. The first half would end three minutes later without much change in BC’s forward momentum.
The second half began with a barrage of shots on Bobcat goaltender Borja Angoitia by four separate BC players. Angoitia blocked two and saved two, which led to a similar attack on BC goaltender Alex Kapp, who blocked one and watched two shots drift wide of the net. Both goaltenders finished the match with two saves.
The game continued with less offensive output from each team, with two additional shots from Quinnipiac and five from BC, including a late chip shot goal by sophomore Isaac Normesinu in the 84th minute, which was assisted by Boateng. The sophomore leads the team in both goals (two) and points overall (four), closely followed by Boateng (one goal, one assist). Normesinu has now scored goals in the last two games, the first of which came in BC’s 2-0 win over Fordham on Sunday.
The final shot tally would be nearly equivalent, with BC shooting 11 times while Quinnipiac made 10 attempts, which speaks toward the match as a whole. While the Eagles found more shots on goal and in the back of the net, Quinnipiac’s seven corners allowed for greater offensive pressure on set pieces, but none of their attempts were successful.
While the Eagles took their opportunities, they looked sloppy when it came to their nine fouls and six yellow cards, one of which was assigned to the team as a whole following a delay of game penalty. Quinnipiac’s frustration would begin to show in the final minutes when a foul led to junior Erik Panzer being sent off for a second yellow card in the 87th minute.
The Eagles will return to Boston to play their third home game at Harvard against the University of Rhode Island, which in years past has been an easy game for the Eagles.
BC escaped what could have been a much closer game and is still looking for its form early in the season.
Featured Image by Graham Beck / Heights Senior Staff