HAMDEN, Conn – In a battle between two remaining undefeated women’s soccer teams in the MAAC, Quinnipiac and Fairfield may have foreshadowed a future playoff match. The two in-state rivals duked it out, but Quinnipiac’s strong defensive play, backed by some lucky bounces, pushed it to a 3-1 victory Wednesday afternoon.
“What it does is it gives us (a) head-to-head (advantage),” head coach Dave Clarke said. “We have to stay ahead of them for it to count, so you gotta build on the next one.”
Fairfield came into Wednesday with one of the top offenses in the MAAC, while Quinnipiac entered with one of the top defenses Out of the gate, the Stags trapped the Bobcats in their own zone in the early stages of the match.Quinnipiac senior goalkeeper Sofia Lospinoso made key saves throughout to keep the game scoreless.
But momentum quickly shifted in favor of the Bobcats as senior forward Courtney Chochol found herself on a breakaway in the eighth minute after the defense capitalized on a mistake at midfield. Chochol waited out Stags sophomore goalkeeper Katie Wright and nudged the ball into the back of the net for the opening score.
Lospinoso continued to own the net, as she stopped Fairfield senior forward Elle Scott with a low left save on a breakaway attempt. Later in the half she made a leaping save with her fingertips to protect the one-goal lead.
Much of the first 45 minutes were dominated by the Stags’ offensive pressure, but the Bobcats’ defense stood tough. The wall of graduate students Olivia Scott and Kayla Mingachos, senior Victoria Foster and junior Madison Mandleur allowed only two shots on goal in the first half.
“I’m pretty confident in our backline anytime it goes back there,” Chochol said. “I have full confidence that I’m gonna get the ball within the next 10 seconds going forward again.”
Quinnipiac held the momentum heading into the half, but it was Fairfield who came out of the half like a stampede. In the 47th minute, senior midfielder Allie Kirby shot it high and right over an outstretched Lospinoso to even the score.
From there it was Quinnipiac’s turn to shift back the momentum. After a header was stopped by Wright, Chochol pounced on the rebound in front and flicked it in for her sixth goal of the season. Her second tally of the game tied her with Fairfield sophomore forward Maddie Theriault for the conference lead in goals.
The Bobcats wanted more following Chochol’s tie-breaking goal , leading to another Bobcat etching her name on the scoreboard.
Graduate student midfielder Markela Bejleri rifled a kick toward the net that was then deflected by a Fairfield defender and trickled past the goal line for another scrappy score.
Lospinoso made one last gritty stop, diving to her right, and that would be all for the Stags as the Bobcats defended home against against a top MAAC opponent.
“You just have to eliminate the mistakes,” Clarke said. “And if we learn from today and look at it and pull out a few clips, it’ll be the same on Saturday.”
Quinnipiac will continue its homestand against Iona on Saturday at noon.
