Quinnipiac women’s lacrosse (6-10) suffered a close 10-8 defeat to Monmouth (11-6) Saturday afternoon in a shootout-turned-defensive showdown that did not favor the Bobcats.

Bobcats’ junior midfielder Sophia Iaccino and attackers senior Sydney Skalstad and junior Desiree Kleberg combined for six goals. However, they fell short due to an amazing first half from Monmouth senior attacker Hope Steuerwald.

The first half was an offensive show with 14 total goals, leaving Quinnipiac trailing by two at the start of the third quarter. Steuerwald was incredible during the first half, almost single-handedly keeping Monmouth in front with her five goals. 

The third quarter was just as much a spectacle as the first half. Kleberg scored both her goals in the third including a nice shot while her teammates were circling around the opposing net like a wheel. Monmouth kept pouring on the goals however, and by the start of the fourth, it was still a two-score game.

The game took a more physical turn throughout the final period, with neither team conceding an inch. A rough foul by junior defender Melissa Murphy forced the referee to hand her a red card and eject her from the game alongside a three minute man-up situation for Monmouth. A stout defensive effort by Quinnipiac kept the Hawks from capitalizing, but an entirely scoreless frame handed the Bobcats their seventh loss in their last eight games.

Quinnipiac head coach Tanya Kotowicz praised Monmouth’s fourth quarter defense, saying it did well to keep shots away from the net.

“We had a lot of looks,” Kotowicz said. “They just did a really good job at shutting down our actual shot placement and we couldn’t find the back of the net.”

Despite the tough loss, Kotowicz said she was proud of her seniors and the progress the team has made overall through the past four years.

“Every year they came on board, they’ve helped us improve the program,” Kotowicz said. “I couldn’t be more grateful for their help in this.”

Skalstad, one of the seniors honored during Saturday’s senior day, said she enjoyed her single year at Quinnipiac and felt right at home with the team.

“Oh my God, I love it here,” Skalstad said. “Coming from Fresno, where I was and then coming here is just like, a complete difference and I’m very, very thankful.”

This was the team’s final game of the season as they did not qualify for the MAAC playoffs. However, Kotowicz said she’s looking forward to the future of the team and what it will work on in the summer.“It’s only gonna get better,” Kotowicz said. “I think it’s the little things now and so we have to kind of lock into those little things in the summer moving forward. Once those things are finally taken care of, they’ll finally be able to see all that they’ve been working for and hopefully the seniors that graduated will come back and feel some pride behind that.”