HAMDEN, Conn. – After fighting back from a six-goal deficit, the Quinnipiac women’s lacrosse team suffered a crushing 13-12 overtime loss at the hands of the Bryant Bulldogs Saturday, falling to 2-3 on the season.

Quinnipiac struck first with a goal from graduate student midfielder Sophie Spencer, but Bryant fired back with three straight goals of its own. Senior midfielder Emily Feeney scored a goal with just under 7 minutes to go in the first quarter, but the Bryant squad answered with four more unanswered tallies to end the first quarter 7-2.

The onslaught looked to continue in the second quarter of play, with a fifth unanswered Bryant goal only a minute into the quarter, but the Bobcats struck back with two goals of their own to make it 8-4 with six minutes remaining in the first half.

Bryant piled on one more goal, but graduate student midfielder Maddie Deegan answered less than a minute later, followed by senior midfielder Amy Nicoloff’s second goal of the contest to make it 9-6 at the conclusion of the first half.

“We went back to trust your instincts, trust our preparation. We changed up a few people in the lineup and got us back on track, but playing catch-up,” Quinnipiac head coach Tanya Kotowicz said when asked how the Bobcats were able to claw their way back into the game.

The back and forth continued through a relatively quiet third quarter. Bulldogs’ senior midfielder Skylar Simmonds opened the period with a goal, but the resilient Bobcats answered with two goals of their own. Deegan scored her second of the contest, and freshman attacker Mia Delmond netted her first to make it 10-8 in Bryant’s favor.

It was a big day for the Delmonds , with Mia scoring a pair and her older sister, sophomore midfielder EllaGrace Delmond recording one of her own in the second quarter.

After sophomore goalkeeper Lindsey Mazzucco saw a good 23 minute chunk of playing time in the middle of the game, Kotowicz opted to go with the senior Kat Henselder in net for the remainder of the game. 

“We have a strong goalkeeping team,” Kotowicz said , “When one might be struggling the next one will step up, and I think that’s exactly what they did today.”

Bryant capped the quarter with a goal from junior attacker Peyton Woodward to make it 11-8 Bryant going into the fourth quarter.

Then, the Bobcats stormed back to life, scoring three-straight goals, and holding Bryant scoreless until the 2:25 mark in the fourth, putting Bryant up 12-11.

After that, it was a mad dash by the Bobcats to net a goal before time expired, and it came in electrifying fashion. Nicloff netted her third of the game to tie it up at 12 goals a piece with only 34 seconds remaining in the contest.

The goal sparked an absolute eruption from the Bobcats’ bench, and the energy could not have been higher.

Unfortunately, all the momentum the Bobcats built came crashing down, as Bulldogs’ junior attacker Kenna Kaut put the nail in the coffin a mere 40 seconds into the extra frame.

Though they were defeated in brutal fashion, the day was not a total loss in the eyes of Kotowicz. 

“We got better. Obviously it’s bittersweet when you lose such a tight game, but I think the lacrosse that was played in the 60 minutes was a pretty good next step for us, so we’re going to carry that,” Kotowicz said. “Obviously you always remember the last moment, and we want to remember the 60 minutes that happened before it too.”

The Bobcats will travel to Worcester, Massachusetts to take on the 2-3 Holy Cross Crusaders at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.