HAMDEN, Conn — In stunning fashion, Quinnipiac field hockey lost 4-3 to Big East rival Villanova Friday afternoon. Senior forward Meghan Mitchell scored all four goals for the victorious Wildcats, making it eight goals in her last four appearances.
Just nine minutes into the game, Quinnipiac jumped out to an early 1-0 lead off of a penalty shot goal from junior forward Lucia Pompeo. The goal was the fourth of the season for last week’s Big East Offensive Player of the Week.
Two minutes later, Bobcats junior forward Emilia Massarelli buried y a well-placed shot for an unassisted goal, also her fourth of the season.
Less than 90 seconds later, graduate forward Sophia Pompeo extended the lead to 3-0, thanks to an assist from her younger sister, Lucia.
Just before the end of the first quarter, Mitchell scored her first goal of the day, giving the Wildcats a much needed jolt of energy. The quarter ended with the hosts up by two.
“She’s a very talented player,” Quinnipiac first-year head coach Nina Klein said. “(She’s) definitely someone who was at the forefront of our scout.”
Mitchell scored again in the second quarter, and Quinnipiac allowed her to even it up at three with just 20 seconds before the end of the third quarter.
With under 10 minutes to go in regulation, Mitchell positioned herself in front of the Bobcats’ goal and tipped in a beautiful pass from junior midfielder Anne Drabbe. The Wildcats had their first lead of the day, up by one.
Quinnipiac had multiple chances to tie it up in the final minutes, but Villanova junior goalkeeper Emma Leppert was quick to deny. Leppert finished the game with five impressive saves to stifle the hosts’ attempts to evening the score.
“I thought we played a solid 30 minutes of good hockey today,” Klein said. “Defensively, there were some breakdowns that we need to clean up moving forward.”
Klein also mentioned how Villanova was able to shut out the Bobcats in the second half, the second-straight conference game that Quinnipiac was scoreless in the final two quarters.
“They were hungry. They were excited,” Klein said. “I think the emotions definitely got the best of us, and I think we need to keep working.”
The hosts showed great resilience and played with intensity until the final horn, even pulling sophomore goalkeeper Cristina Torres with a minute to go. However the Bobcats could not find the back of the cage.
“(I’m) definitely proud of the team’s fight,” Klein said. “We’re just going to get better and keep moving on. The counter attack today was a struggle for us. We just need to clean up our defensive end.”
Quinnipiac will look to get back on track with a home matchup on Sunday at noon against Yale.
