Quinnipiac men’s lacrosse lost in heartbreaking fashion to Canisius on its home field. After having a two goal advantage deep in the fourth quarter, the Bobcats crumbled in a 10-9 loss.
The conference rivals were tied with Manhattan in the MAAC standings prior to the contest, but the win catapulted the Golden Griffin’s into first place. Canisius now has three in-conference wins, currently the most in the MAAC. A missed opportunity for the Bobcats.
Quinnipiac started the year rough, going 0-5 in non-conference play only to turn things around when it mattered most, currently sitting at 2-1 in the MAAC.
“I think it just forced us to learn our identity faster,” head coach Mason Poli said. “It exposed this team right out of the gate with that level of competition, so now we have a better idea of who we are.”
The identity the Bobcats have seemingly developed is on the defensive side of the ball. Quinnipiac caused eight turnovers for Canisius and despite the loss, the Bobcats goaltending play was more than enough to keep them in the fight.
Senior goalie Mason Oak did what he does best, block shots. The reigning MAAC Defensive Player of the Week had 11 saves on the day, with a save percentage of 52%.
Despite a back-and–forth battle between the MAAC rivals, Quinnipiac’s matchup with the Golden Griffins was a low-scoring affair.
The scoreboard only rang 5-5 at halftime, and neither team put the ball in the net during the third quarter until around three minutes left, when sophomore midfielder Aiden Whitehouse found an opening in the Canisius defense and let it rip.
Quinnipiac had a great first half in transition, often catching Canisius off guard in the open field. One transition highlight came in the middle of the second period, when the Bobcats had a fast break opportunity and took no time to strike against the Golden Griffins.
In what was reminiscent of a Dwayne Wade to LeBron James lob from the 2010s Miami Heat, sophomore attacker Cole Marsala found fellow sophomore attacker Nate Watson for an easy pass-and-score play.
“We could have used a little bit more (transition play) at times,” Poli said. “It created a little bit of chaos as well.”
The Bobcats had all the momentum on their side nearing the end of the third period, but disaster almost struck as the game clock was winding down to end the quarter.
Freshman defensemen Joe Konesco threw an ill-advised pass to Oak while the goalie was adjusting in the net, almost causing Konesco to score on his own team. Oak was able to make a patented save at the last second, which caused the Quinnipiac crowd to sigh in relief.
The fourth quarter saw more of the same back-and-forth between the two schools until around six minutes left to go. Canisius put the pedal to the metal and refused to let go, piling on the scoreboard with three unanswered goals.
The final dagger came from Canisius senior midfielder Jaxson Fridge, who threw a stunning behind-the-back pass to sophomore midfielder Jordan Reed delivering the final blow to the Bobcats.
Quinnipiac had one last shot at redemption. With 39 seconds on the clock the Bobcats began to drive down the field and set up the last shot. Graduate student midfielder Trevor Douglas, who had two goals for the Bobcats, cocked back his arms and let the ball fly towards the Canisius net, but the ball flew wide right.
It wasn’t over just yet, Quinnipiac kept possession of the ball with four seconds left. One last chance just wasn’t enough, as Quinnipiac didn’t even have enough time to get a shot at the net before the game clock rang zeroes.
“Had our opportunity at the end there,” Poli said. “Hit a post, but the bounce of the ball didn’t go our way.”
The Bobcats travel to Riverdale, New York to take on Manhattan on March 26. Face-off is set for 4 p.m.
