The Lady Bobcats’ soccer squad lost two extremely close matches this week, dropping their record to 0-4 on the season. Quinnipiac played host to Lehigh on Sunday September 7 and to the College of the Holy Cross on Wednesday September 10.
Against Lehigh, the Bobcats defense showed flashes of brilliance throughout the first half despite allowing two goals. Quinnipiac struck first as Meg Kennedy was able to slip the ball past the Lehigh goalkeeper. A combination of Lehigh not being able to clear the ball from the goal area and excellent ball control by the Bobcats led to a 1-0 lead. That lead, however was short lived.
Lehigh was able to put itself on the board off a direct kick by Adrienne Grunwald that sailed into the top left shelf past a wall of defenders and over the Bobcats’ diving goaltender, Heather Zaccone. Two minutes later Lehigh struck again as forward Lauren Calabrase collected a rebound and put it in the net for a 2-1 lead.
Momentum shifts tended to hurt the Lady Bobcats. Junior Jamie Ahearn said, “we just need to win a game so we can convince ourselves we really are a good team.”
After the second half senior Elisa Goncalves was able to weave in and out of Lehigh defenders on what looked to be an effortless display of athleticism. Goncalves ripped the ball into the bottom left corner of the net past a diving goalie, tieing the game at two apiece. That goal was also a milestone in Goncalves career as she became only the third player in Quinnipiac history to either pass or shoot her way to 100 career points. Sharon Polastry (176) and Kim Witteman (136) were the only other two before Goncalves joined the elite club. However, Goncalves is the first to achieve the milestone participating solely in Division 1 play.
The tied score was short lived though. Lehigh’s Gina Lewandowski scored only 23 seconds later to take back the lead, 3-2. Three minutes later, Leandra Price squirted the ball past Lehigh’s keeper, scoring Quinnipiac’s final goal of regulation, which tied the score at three.
The Bobcats and the Mountainhawks went into overtime and Lehigh quickly ended the match with its fourth goal on the day by Tara Stottlemyer, her first, from the top left corner of the goalie box.
Wednesday’s home game against Holy Cross produced the same result as Sunday’s home opener. Quinnipiac started strong, striking first, on a goal by Goncalves, tallying her 101st career point. A pass from Melissa Ganias found Goncalves who put the ball in the back of the net.
Holy Cross scored once in the first half and then again to take the lead, and eventually the game,
in the second half. Both goals were scored by Meredith Davis at 41:35 and 67:11 of the game, respectively.
Despite their record, the women’s soccer team looks extremely strong. Their play for most of the game on Sunday was extremely impressive, and the match against Holy Cross proved they are going to snap the loosing streak sooner than later. With crisp defense and a nose for the goal, the Lady Bobcats’ aren’t far from being a serious contender in the NEC and against pivotal Northeastern opponents.
