As of publication, Quinnipiac is leading the MAAC standings with a 10-1 conference record and a 12-3-1 overall mark. It’s riding a two-game winning streak with recent closely contested victories over Manhattan (1-0) and Iona (2-1).
Before this recent win streak, however, Quinnipiac suffered its first MAAC loss in two years. A 2-0 defeat at Mount St. Mary’s on Oct. 19 marked the teams’ first conference loss since falling 1-0 at Iona two seasons ago.
“I do feel like it came at a good point where we kind of needed a reset,” graduate student forward Courtney Chochol said. “It’s so easy to get complacent, not that we were complacent, but I mean, everyone is due for a loss.”
With one game remaining on the schedule against No. 2 Fairfield, Quinnipiac aims to build momentum heading into the postseason, led by its core of upperclassmen.
“We just want to win the games,” Chochol said. “Taking it one game at a time like we have the whole season, and just getting the job done.” To get the jobe done, Quinnipiac must rely on strong leadership from its older players, and Chochol has been an integral part of the team’s success. This season, she leads the team with six goals, ranks second in assists (6) and tops the roster in points (18).
In addition to her offensive production this season, Chochol has made her mark in the record books for women’s soccer, currently sitting at No. 2 all-time in assists in program history with 29.
“It was something that I didn’t really know that was going on,” Chochol said. “Then in our last home game, they said I surpassed it in one of the assists on a goal. I feel like it’s pretty cool, it’s a great accomplishment.”
Chochol isn’t the only record holder on the team. Goalkeeper and fellow graduate student Sofia Lospinoso has also etched her name into program history. She currently holds the top spot for all-time wins and shutouts in Quinnipiac women’s soccer.
“Having her at the back is so huge for us, I’m always so confident in her whenever there’s a one-on-one situation,” Chochol said. “I’ll bet on her eight or nine times out of 10 for her to make the save, which I think is really big for us.”
As important as Chochol and Lospinoso are to the box score, they are also proven leaders for a team that features a strong upperclassmen presence, with eight seniors and three graduate students.
“They know their experience has to take over, and if you look top to bottom, it’s not just about one player, it’s the collective,” head coach Dave Clarke said. “So if you’ve got four seniors, it’s four times four years, 16 years of experience.”
The Bobcats aren’t lacking experience when it comes to postseason soccer. This core of seniors and graduate students has won the MAAC tournament for two consecutive years.
In 2022, Quinnipiac entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed after finishing the season with a 9-1 conference record. After defeating No. 5 Canisius 1-0, Quinnipiac secured its first MAAC Tournament win by overcoming No. 3 Niagara 4-0.
Last fall, Quinnipiac once again earned the top seed in the tournament with a 9-0-1 record in conference play. The Bobcats outlasted No. 6 Rider before defeating No. 2 Fairfield in the MAAC championship game, securing their second-consecutive title.
With this recent success, Quinnipiac women’s soccer dominating its conference has become water cooler conversation, but it’s not the only contender in the MAAC.
Following Quinnipiac, the remaining conference playoff teams are Fairfield, Canisius, Siena, Merrimack and Manhattan. If the standings hold through the end of the season, here’s how the matchups would shape up.
Quinnipiac and Fairfield would receive first round-byes as the top two seeds. In the quartefinals, third-seeded Canisius would face No. 6 Manhattan, while No. 4 Siena would take on No. 5 Merrimack. As the No. 1 seed, Quinnipiac would face the winner of the Canisius-Manhattan matchup, while No. 2 Fairfield would play the winner of the Siena-Merrimack game.
It seems iron sharpens iron in the MAAC, but Quinnipiac hasn’t achieved the same success with its NCAA tournament bids. Both MAAC championship teams came up short in the first round of the NCAA tournament; in 2022, the Bobcats fell to Penn State 4-1, and in 2023, they lost to Brown 3-0.
For a team that has been there and done that, the time is now for this experienced roster to break the proverbial glass ceiling created by the previous two season endings.
The takeaway from the two NCAA tournament losses? The opportunity to learn.
“We learned a lot from the first year of going to the NCAA that we took into the next year even, and I feel that our performance against Brown was definitely a lot better than our performance against Penn State,” Chochol said. “I think that that definitely comes from the experience of having been there before in that situation. So hopefully we make that point again, and we’re able to take the experience that we’ve gotten from the last two years and be able to take it into this year.”
How the MAAC tournament’s seeding plays out comes down to Quinnipiac’s final game against Fairfield. A win or loss could determine whether it enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed, securing home-field advantage, or as the No. 2 seed behind the Stags.
If the Bobcats win, they’ll finish with an 11-1 conference record and 33 points, while Fairfield will conclude with a 9-2-1 conference record and 28 points.
With a loss on Wednesday, Quinnipiac would end the season at 10-2 against conference opponents, remaining with 30 points, while Fairfield would secure the top seed, with a 10-1-1 conference record and 31 points.
“The advantage for us is that they have to beat us,” Clarke said. “I’ve said to the players since last week, they’re in sort of playoff mode, every game has ramifications.”
If Quinnipiac is to advance further than in the previous two seasons, securing a win in its final game is crucial. And if this group of leaders wants to make noise in the NCAA tournament, the time is now.
