[media-credit id=2228 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]The Quinnipiac women’s lacrosse team (5-9 overall, 1-5 MAAC) battled it out with the top seed in the conference in the Canisius Golden Griffins on Saturday afternoon in Hamden, but ultimately fell 12-7.

Canisius’ junior attack Jourdan Roemer led the way for the Golden Griffs with four goals and five assists, good to bring the MAAC leader in points to a total of 65. Quinnipiac’s sophomore attack Ashley Bobinski and junior midfielder Allison Kuhn each contributed three points for the Bobcats on their Senior Day.  

Canisius and Quinnipiac exchanged goals in the first few minutes, making it 2-2, but Canisius then went on a 6-0 run and closed out the half leading 8-2. Roemer was good for two goals and four assists in the half, with sophomore midfielder Bryar Cummings, senior attack Allie Stewart and senior midfielder Jen Reininger all collecting two goals for the Golden Griffs.

“I think we’ve had a record of being a second half team,” Quinnipiac senior defender Kiera Kelly said. “That’s something we’re trying to change going forward. Although it’s unfortunate where we were at halftime, we’ve been there before and there’s an opportunity to come back. It’s not something we hadn’t done before.”

The second half showcased a much different Quinnipiac team. Sophomore Allie Kelsey replaced senior Kyle Larkin in net at the start of the final 30 minutes, as Larkin finished her day recording two saves.

It wasn’t just the personnel that changed with Quinnipiac battling throughout the half. The Bobcats fell down early 10-4, but were able to scrap three goals and close the gap to 10-7 with about five minutes left. However, Reininger’s third goal stopped the comeback and Canisius would hang on to win 12-7.

“We struggled clearing the ball ourselves,” Kelly said. “We kind of lost it ourselves. We had a lot of turnovers on our end and our clear percentage wasn’t too good, so I think that’s something we can fix going to Siena.”

The Bobcats only have two games remaining in their season and currently sit eighth out of nine teams in the MAAC. While a MAAC tournament berth looks bleak, the team won’t be giving up in their final matchups.

“It’s not over until someone tells us it’s over,” Kelly said.

Quinnipiac may not have gotten the result it wanted, but it was able to celebrate its four seniors in a pregame ceremony. Senior attack/defender Caitlinn Riedell, senior attack Loren Antonacci, Kelly and Larkin were all recognized with family members and teammates surrounding them.

“It’s awesome, I’m definitely going to miss it a lot,” Kelly said while reflecting on her Quinnipiac career. “I’ve played next to Haley [Everding], Aubrey [Conti], playing next to Maddy [Lamanga], Kyle [Larkin], Allie [Kelsey]. We just form our own little unit. And with the middies and attack, it’s definitely something I’m going to miss.”

Quinnipiac’s next game will be Wednesday, April 18 against Siena (4-9 overall, 0-4 MAAC) at 3 p.m. in Loudonville, New York.