To little surprise, Quinnipiac women’s soccer was ranked No. 1 in the 2024 MAAC Coaches’ Preseason Poll.
Aside from the obvious — taking the cake as back-to-back conference champions — the Bobcats have the usual suspects that make their program a top candidate in the MAAC.
Quinnipiac carries experience in each position, operates as one unit and has sheer hunger for a third ring.
Here’s a glimpse at how these qualities reinforce preseason expectations, but also shed light on its possible shortcomings.
DEPTH
Quinnipiac’s last two — and the program’s only two — NCAA Tournament appearances were short-lived. A 4-1 defeat at Penn State in 2022, a 3-0 shutout against Brown in 2023. A loss is a loss on paper, but a score is merely a reflection of a game.
“It was two completely different teams,” senior defender Madison Mandleur said. “I know the score maybe didn’t show it, but I know we felt it on the field. So I think it was good for us just to be in the NCAA for two years and realize that maybe every-
one watching saw scores (and) didn’t think anything changed, but I think it’s important because we knew something changed.”
How?
Because the program is built that way.
“(Something) that we’ve done this year and even last year was we’re not expecting (recruits) to come in and start,” head coach Dave Clarke said. “We are expecting them to come in and develop and looking forward to kick on in the spring in the following year.”
Quinnipiac’s potential starters prove exactly that. Stalwarts such as NCAA Division I All-Region Third Team graduate student forward Courtney Chochol and junior defender Madison Alves didn’t enter Hamden the same way they’ll leave.
Alves logged just over 200 minutes of game action freshman year. She’s now an integral starting center back, even deemed “statistically, one of the best players in the country,” last fall by Clarke.
The proof is in the pudding for the system. To avoid entire transition years, most incomers don’t see action right away. They have nearly a full season to watch Quinnipiac soccer, so they can spend future seasons playing it.
Take junior forward Morgan Cupo and senior midfielder Ana Costello, both veterans on the roster, who are just now making a dent and reinforcing this idea of the waiting game.
That’s just two of several names Clarke sees assuming a larger role in the absence of key players such as No. 2 scorer Emely van der Vliet or NEWISA All-New Engand defender Kayla Minchagos.
“All of a sudden, you’ve got a very, very experienced team which then allows us to integrate the younger players,” Clarke said of the current squad. “So do I expect some to step up? Yeah, I do.”
CAMARADERIE
For Quinnipiac to close the gap and secure its third consecutive MAAC, it needs a symbiotic starting 11. Individual players
are only as good as the sum of their parts.
“What’s good about us is that we know how to acclimate and we know how to really, you know, move within positions,” Alves said. “So we have some versatility within the team. And I think with that, we’ll be able to fill the gaps.”
The Bobcats surely have chemistry on the pitch, their eye-catching resume demonstrates that. During 2023, they ranked No. 14 in points per game.
Quinnipiac also returns 2023 MAAC Gold Glover Sofia Lospinoso — a force in the cage who recorded seven shutouts last season, good enough for top 10 in the country.
But it’s not about separate success. It’s the culmination.
“I think that the mantras are still pretty much the same,” Lospinoso said. “Consistency is what it takes. But yeah, it’s definitely just like, we’re one family. We’re one. There’s no me in this equation.”
To even reach another conference tournament, Quinnipiac must be a top-eight competitor. As of this fall, MAAC playoff pools in soccer consist of eight teams rather than six.
“It’s always like one day at a time like little wins,” Mandleur said. “We need to win every game to get to that point, there’s no looking ahead. What happened last year is in the past, we won last year (and it) has nothing to do with the team we are this year.”
Mandleur isn’t the only player with this mindset. According to Chochol, the preseason transition is as smooth as it’s ever been, with this tight-knit group embracing these expectations to be No. 1.
“One of the things that our coach always preaches is that pressure is a privilege,” Chochol said. “We are in the spot that we’re in with all the pressure because of what we’ve done in the past, and any other team would give anything to be in the position that we’re in.”
All the more reason to work as a well-oiled machine. The road to victory isn’t linear, and it’s usually not accomplished
alone.
“There’s going to be bumps and bruises along the way,” Alves said. “But I think if we continue on the path we’re going to-
wards and you know, keep that disciplined schedule, I think we’re more than capable of retaining that three-peat.”
MOTIVATION
Quinnipiac doesn’t have many adversities, which may be its biggest setback. There’s an expectation that will follow the
Bobcats wherever they go. Everyone wants to dethrone the champions.
“You just got to keep climbing that mountain and not worry about the molehill and tripping over that at the top,” Clarke said. “So the focus is definitely on the MAAC, nothing else.”
To achieve a conference feat that only Monmouth has in its 2013-2019 dynasty, the reigning victors must ignore the noise
and play their game.
“We’re all in the right mindset to do it,” senior goaltender Gwen Hoyt said. “And I think that’s where it starts, the first step to getting something like that accomplished is making sure everyone is on the same page.”
That starts in preseason. Quinnipiac’s non-conference schedule is designed to prepare it for higher-level competition, facing mid-major teams from the Coastal Athletic Association, Big East and America East.
The Bobcats are 1-2-1 as of Sept. 1, their biggest blunder being a 5-0 loss to Georgetown last week. Quinnipiac hadn’t conceded five goals since a 5-2 blow in the 2016 MAAC Championships against Monmouth.
Then again, it’s hard to use the Bobcats’ performance in D.C. as a looking glass into their future. The Hoyas were ranked No.12 in the NCAA last year and received votes in the 2024 United Soccer Coaches Women’s Top 25 Poll. Quinnipiac on the other hand has yet to breach the second round of the tournament.
Additionally, the regular season slate looks slightly different for the Bobcats. Sacred Heart and Merrimack College — both former NEC champions — enter the MAAC this fall.
This competition may be fresh for the conference but they’re familiar faces to Quinnipiac, a former NEC affiliate itself.
“They don’t know what we’re like as a team, and we don’t know what they’re like as a team,” Chochol said. “I think that’s similar to what it would be like playing out-of-conference games. I think that it’ll be a good challenge for us to see what we can do against a new opponent.”
