HAMDEN — The last time Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart women’s soccer played on the same pitch was in 2012. A 1-0 victory from the Pioneers left the Bobcats with a 2-4-7 all-time record against the red and white.
That was 12 years ago. And that all-time record looks slightly different as of Saturday afternoon: 3-4-7.
In Sacred Heart’s inaugural MAAC match, it was Quinnipiac who came out on top 2-0 at home Saturday to kick off the conference slate.
“We just had to execute,” senior midfielder Ella Gagno said. “We knew what we had to do. We weren’t focused on games that they played or games that we played. We just focused on this game.”
Four minutes into play, Gagno weaved through Sacred Heart’s left back line and fed the ball to junior forward Morgan Cupo, who finished the give and go with a nugget cradled in the lower-right side of sophomore goalkeeper Kyran Thievon’s net.
“We always talk about frantic five,” Gagno said. “So first five minutes, last five minutes, five minutes after a goal, we just come out strong in those five. And that’s what we did for both halves.”
The momentum came and went swiftly, as Quinnipiac went stale for the remainder of the half. It didn’t stop the pressure from the Bobcats’ offense, who combined for nine shots after the first 45, holding a majority of the possession in Sacred Heart’s defensive zone.
“The whole thing we’re driving is we’re going to score in every game,” head coach Dave Clarke said. “So to beat us you’re going to have to score twice, which is what we talked about last year.”
Surely, the Pioneers had their chances to do that. Small defensive miscues from Quinnipiac’s quartet in the back caused the occasional havoc for graduate student goaltender Sofia Lospinoso — who ended the day with her first shutout of the fall.
Aside from small moments of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs,’ neither squad was overly dominant aside from the Bobcats’ early goal. It’s a testament to both programs, who used strategic substitutions to keep fresh legs on the field as best they could.
The strategy just seemed to work better for Quinnipiac — who controlled the game the same way it has the last two seasons as steamrollers of the MAAC.
Nineteen seconds into the second half, the Bobcats pulled the tug-of-war rope away from the Pioneers, with graduate student forward Courntey Chochol taking advantage of a failed clearing attempt by junior defender Jessie Stonehouse and handing Quinnipiac a 2-0 cushion with a slow dribbler.
Chochol was substituted out late in the first half, beginning the second rested and reset. When the opportunity presented itself, her quick reaction time became the difference between a close game and a breathable one.
“I think it’s good for us to get different players in the game,” Cupo said. “So when we’re tired, we’re coming off for a breather, and they’re able to (get) fresh legs chasing the ball, keeping the intensity high, but also, we can take a break and then come back on and finish the game off.” It also didn’t hurt that Quinnipiac had the comforts of home beneath its feet, registering another 12 shots in the second half — including a near-perfect boot that smacked the left side of the crossbar from junior midfielder Milena Branco.
“We’re going to see the best performance of every single team,” Clarke said. “Even if they’re bombing the league and 0-10, they want to beat us … every team wants to do that.”
Of course, this is just one game. It’s not a make or break for either team. But it takes the bad taste out of Quinnipiac’s mouth after a 1-2-1 start to the season, giving the reigning MAAC champs a leg up in the hunt for a three-peat.
