Coming off an overtime win against Hartford on Tuesday, Quinnipiac (5-3 overall, 2-0 MAAC) continued to carry momentum as it defeated St. Bonaventure (0-7 overall, 0-4 MAAC) 12-7 on Saturday in Hamden.
The Bobcats extended their winning streak to five games after starting the season 0-3. Despite St. Bonaventure’s record, senior attack Mike Fletcher said he made sure that his teammates weren’t going to take the Bonnies lightly.
“It doesn’t matter how good someone is, you play like a champion and you always play your best,” Fletcher said. “Just keep on going out there and run hard.”
[media-credit id=2258 align=”alignright” width=”300″]
[/media-credit]The Bobcats had a tough task in front of them as they went up against St. Bonaventure’s freshman goaltender Brett Dobson, who’s second in the MAAC in saves per game with 14.25. However, the Bobcats were unphased as they scored four goals in the first quarter.
“You just vary your shots and vary your shot location,” Quinnipiac interim head coach Mason Poli said. “We kept him guessing a little bit and had some success, he still had 14 or 15 saves in the first half. So credit to him, he’s a phenomenal goaltender.”
Another factor in the Bobcats’ attack was their ability to get contributions from a variety of players. Quinnipiac had seven players score with four of them netting two or more goals.
However, senior attack Foster Cuomo is the player who made the most impact. After Cuomo and all the seniors missed the first five games of the season for disciplinary reasons, Cuomo’s return has given new life to the Bobcats as he scored three goals on Saturday and is second on the team with 13 goals.
“(Cuomo) just lets the game come to him,” Poli said. “He’s not trying to force it, he’s making quick decisions and attacking the goal when he can. When he sees that double coming, he’s quick to move that ball and letting it come to him is the key for him in which he’s doing a phenomenal job.”
The Bonnies didn’t quit as they scored four goals in the second half to cut it to a 12-7 lead. Freshman attack Jackson Rose and midfielder Cian Collins had two goals each, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Bobcats’ offense.
In total, the Bobcats finished the game with 64 shots and 33 shots on goal. However, they only scored 12 goals, which is something Poli wants his team to fix.
“That’s an area in which we need to improve on moving forward,” Poli said. “Sixty-four shots and only 12 goals, we need to get that shooting percentage up.”
Quinnipiac will shift focus to next Saturday, March 30, as it takes on the Siena Saints, who currently sit at the top of the MAAC, at 3 p.m. in Loudonville, New York. Fletcher believes the Bobcats have to convert on more chances to come out with a favorable result.
“I think our shot placement was good,” Fletcher said. “All we have to do is put them in the back of the net. We have to ride out the second half and don’t give up too easily.”
