HAMDEN — Quinnipiac faces the displeasure of being the first MAAC team to suffer a loss to Iona, who recently joined the MAAC and the ranks of Division I lacrosse. A 12-8 loss Saturday to the Gaels puts the Bobcats at 2-8 on the year.
“I thought we played OK today,” head coach Mason Poli said. “There were some small details that we didn’t hit the mark on, I thought we tried to dictate the tempo a little too much and it created some opportunities for them.”
It wasn’t a pretty scene in Hamden; the wind howled across Quinnipiac Soccer & Lacrosse Stadium, and the rain poured down for the first half of the contest. But the weather didn’t seem to impact either team as the goals kept coming.
The Bobcats struck first, and they wasted no time in doing so. Within 20 seconds of the opening face-off, sophomore midfielder Nick Meoni drove down the middle of the field and delivered a strike to put Quinnipiac on the scoreboard.
But Iona had a few tricks up its sleeve, in its first ever matchup against Quinnipiac. During the middle of the first quarter, freshman attacker Jake Rigiletti drove from the right side of the net, executed a smooth spin move off his defender and found freshman midfielder Kyle Hardie on the other side of the net for the Gaels second goal of the game.
Quinnipiac finished the first quarter on top, as sophomore attacker Cole Marsala found the net in the waning minutes of the starting quarter, but that 3-2 lead wouldn’t last for much longer.
Two quick goals by freshmen attackers Cullen Lawry and Kolbe Curtin evaporated Quinnipiac’s first quarter lead and flipped the script, Iona now led 4-3.
Things got worse for Hamden, Hardie found freshman midfielder Vincent Pititto for another goal as Quinnipiac continued to trail the Gaels.
On paper, this wasn’t how it was supposed to play out. The Gaels came into this game with a 1-9 record and no wins in the MAAC. Iona averaged 6.8 goals a game, it had 5 by the halfway point of the second quarter.
Quinnipiac needed this game bad. The Bobcats are hovering at No. 6 in the MAAC standings, only six teams advance to the postseason. A loss could put the Bobcats in jeopardy of being on the outside looking in.
How would Quinnipiac respond?
Graduate student midfielder Trevor Douglas helped to stop the bleeding just before the end of the second quarter, cutting his way to the opposing net to bring the deficit to one.
But Quinnipiac wasn’t done quite yet, sophomore attacker Nate Watson secured his 18th goal of the season with a slapshot to end the second quarter. The Bobcats could exhale a sigh of relief, it was a tied ball game once again.
The third quarter turned into a defensive stalemate for the first six minutes. Neither team could gain much offensive traction, that was until junior attacker Justin Robbert found an opening to give the Bobcats their third unanswered goal of the contest.
But the Gaels were finally able to put a stop to Quinnipiac’s unanswered run, Lawry was able to score his second of five goals on the day, pinning the ball on the right side of the net.
Then a few minutes later, freshman midfielder Max Monzo was able to avoid Bobcat defenders and add to the Gaels goal total. Freshman attacker Jimmy Kennedy followed suit a couple possessions later, maneuvering his way to the net and delivering a strike to put the Gaels up by two.
Whatever Iona was throwing senior goaltender Mason Oak’s way, it was working. Quinnipiac had one quarter to adjust and attempt to deliver a win at home.
The Bobcats started off the quarter on the right foot, with sophomore midfielder Ryan Goodman leading the charge for their seventh goal of the contest. Things were starting to heat up once again.
But disaster nearly struck at the worst possible time for the Bobcats. As Quinnipiac was attempting to clear the ball, freshman attacker Jack Martinez intercepted a pass and quickly struck at an empty Bobcat net. Luckily for Quinnipiac, the ball missed wide left.
But luck ran out for Quinnipiac rather quickly, Martinez had an opportunity to strike the net once again on the next possession — this time without a broken play — and delivered the Gaels their ninth goal of the contest.
Cullen added on to the scoring on the very next possession, finding his way to the net for his second goal and adding to the Gaels three-goal lead.
The Bobcats were simply unable to answer back in the fourth quarter, they had good looks, but the shots just didn’t fall.
“We just didn’t capitalize on our opportunities,” Poli said.
Quinnipiac will look to get back on track as the Bobcats take on Sacred Heart in Hamden on April 5. Face-off is set for 12 p.m.
