Using a strong team effort and a little help from its defenders, the Quinnipiac women’s soccer team defeated the St. Peter’s College Peahens 1-0 on Thursday at Bobcat Field. The game’s lone goal came off the foot of junior defender Kate Ahearn in the 61st minute.

After a foul just inside the Peahens half of the field, the Bobcats were awarded a free kick. Junior defender Brittany Lockwood took the kick which sailed over the defenders’ heads into the penalty area. Out of the pack of players in the box, Ahearn came sliding in to knock the ball past Peahen senior goalkeeper Andrea Kovalcik.

“Every ball from Britt (Lockwood) is a good one,” Ahearn said. “There was no real skill involved on my part. We just 100 percent needed a goal or we were going to be in trouble.”

That goal proved to be the only offense the team needed as it recorded its second clean sheet of the season. Along with Ahearn and Lockwood, the defense was anchored by junior Rachele See and freshmen Olivia Kravitz and Justine Lombardi. Senior goalie Sarah Lusto recorded the shutout as she was not called on to make any saves.

Head coach Dave Clarke was impressed with how his squad used many of the things they had been working on in practice.

“They did what they have been doing in practice; work hard, work with each other, battle for every ball,” he said. “Physically they looked strong, and we got a goal out of a set place which we had practiced.”

The Bobcats seemed to outwork the Peahens as they controlled most of the game’s action. When the Peahens did gain control of the ball, their attacks did not last long. They mustered only one shot the entire match.

Throughout the contest the Bobcats had various chances to score and had a late barrage of shots toward the end of the first half, but Kovalcik seemed to be in the right place at the right time as she recorded nine saves. At the half, the teams were locked in a scoreless tie.

In the second half, the Bobcats continued to control the tempo and moved the ball into the attacking third with ease. Within the first 15 minutes of the half, the Bobcats took five shots, but to no avail as Kovalcik was up to the task each time.

Minutes before Ahearn’s goal, Lockwood blasted a shot from 25 yards that went just wide. The ‘Cats finally broke through with their only tally in the 61st minute.

For the remainder of the game, the Bobcats relied on ball control and stingy defense to preserve the 1-0 victory and improve their record to 2-1-0 for the season. The Peahens dropped to 0-2-0.

Other bright spots for the Bobcats included freshman forward Amber Sidoti, with four shots on goal, and freshman forward Susan Donovan, who according to Clarke, provided the spark for the team in the victory.

“You hate to pick out players, but I think when Susan Donovan came on she provided that little spark,” Clarke said. “It was a team effort, but Susan coming on changed the course of the second half.”

Donovan had a part in all of Quinnipiac’s goals in its 4-0 win over Howard University on Sunday.