HAMDEN — Quinnipiac men’s lacrosse has suffered two-straight losses for the first time this season.
The Bobcats lost 13-12 to Sacred Heart Wednesday afternoon, despite starting out well, the team began to struggle during the second half.
“There were areas of the game where we played well,” head coach Mason Poli said. “But there were other areas where we didn’t. Way too many loose ball pushes, some boneheaded penalties that weren’t able to allow us to to play with discipline. To lose by one goal with mistakes and flaws that are self-attributed, it shouldn’t be the case.”
To open up the first quarter, Sacred Heart looked out of sync. Passes that didn’t connect which caused the team to get out rhythm and when the Pioneers could pass the ball, their shots weren’t on goal. However, once the second frame began, the Pioneers wore the rust off and the game became competitive.
The Bobcats on the other hand, started the game off on the right foot. On defense, Quinnipiac played aggressive, as the team refused to allow the Pioneers any breathing room in transition.
The hosts’ highly contested defense allowed the Bobcats to disrupt any offensive game plan Sacred Heart had early on.
Quinnipiac’s lockdown defense to start the game extended to the man in front of the goal. Junior goaltender Mason Oak blocked almost every shot in his direction, and even got creative with it. At one point, Oak slid down to deflect a shot with his right leg, one of his impressive 10 saves in the first quarter.
“He’s been a stud,” Poli said. “We threw some mixers in defensively and the defense built momentum, to hold them to thirteen was still a pretty good effort.”
On offense, Quinnipiac seemed to have an emphasis on fastbreak opportunities. The hosts seemed to transition from one side of the field to the other in a matter of seconds. A masterful transition game along with stellar passing from the Bobcats allowed for the group to score in bunches.
But the game began to unravel for the Bobcats at the start of the second half. Sacred Heart applied pressure early, which resulted in three goals in just five minutes.. Junior attacker Jake Ward scored three of the Pioneers’ goals during the course of the contest, which helped put Sacred Heart on top during the third quarter.
The Bobcats, who now trailed 9-7, needed a new strategy, made clear by Poli calling a timeout halfway through the third quarter. Quinnipiac responded as best it could, with senior midfielder Steven Germain driving through contact to score as he fell to the ground. But despite their efforts, the Bobcat’s comeback came up short.
Quinnipiac rallied off the hands of graduate student attack John DeLucia — who had four goals during the course of the contest. Down just one goal with under thirty seconds to play, the Bobcats had a chance to tie it up, but dysfunction ensued.
Quinnipiac gained possession but was unable to hold onto the ball, it bounced all the way to the middle of the field and into the arms of the Pioneers. The costly turnover spelled the end for the host’s comeback hopes.
The Bobcats will stay in Hamden as they are set to go up against VMI on April 13. The first faceoff is set for 12 p.m.
