The pressure of staying on top is challenging, especially for a team holding the back-to-back champions title. Quinnipiac women’s soccer fell to that pressure in its 2024 campaign, ending its almost two year long undefeated streak and handing its title to Fairfield.
After an unexpectedly shocking season, Quinnipiac women’s soccer sits in a rebuilding state in the No. 2 spot on the MAAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
“We just had a meeting, just going over finding our identity as a team again,” senior defense Madison Alves said. “I think it can be a little tricky when you lose so many, pivotal players in that previous season.”
Going into this season Quinnipiac lost nine players, athletes who provided a lot of depth to its roster making them a strong, talented and competitively unmatched team.
Many of these athletes including Courtney Chochol ‘24, Roman Rachel ‘24 and Asiling Spillane ‘24 led the Bobcats in goals combined, contributing to 17 of the 32 goals the Bobcats put up. In net, two time MAAC Golden Glove Winner and All-MAAC First Team goaltender Sophia Lospinoso was a strong force, with a 0.838 save percentage in 19 games played.
And while they lost nine athletes, nine freshmen have joined the squad this year in hopes to reclaim the MAAC Title.
“They’re definitely still adjusting, and we have to give them the benefit of the doubt, and know that, we’re the only ones that are gonna push them and make them feel comfortable,” senior defensive midfielder Molly Andrews said. “It can come from the coaches, but at the end of the day, it’s the team around us.”
Quinnipiac’s senior class is not afraid to step up to the challenge, with two MAAC titles under its belt, while also experiencing the difficulties of last season’s fall. The challenges the senior squad has faced during their four years in Hamden, prepares them for the trials and tribulations this season presents.
“Our senior class, we’ve gone through a lot of ups and downs since we’ve been here, and we have been very successful, but we’ve also started seasons not the strongest,” Andrews said. “To know that we’re not even in MAAC play yet, and we need to just fine-tune things, and just stay confident and true to who we know we are.”
Quinnipiac has consistently had a strong offense, out-scoring its opponents 32 to 14 last season, with an average goals per game of 1.60. The Bobcats also put up 298 shots to their opponents 197 shots during the 2024 season.
On the other hand, Quinnipiac has struggled with their number of fouls, with 214 fouls to its opponents 173 last season, with 22 yellow cards.
Yet, Quinnipiac doesn’t see its physical game as a weakness, but rather one of its highlights to its style of game, defined by pace and speed.
“We match up physically very well,” Alves said. “We’ve really touched upon our pace, and our coaches really emphasize that whether it’s on the wings, the middle, defensively, we have the pace throughout the field.”
The Bobcats opened up their season with matchups against Hofstra, Stony Brook, Syracuse and LIU, falling 0-3-1 before MAAC play even starts. In their non-conference matchups, the Bobcats have struggled to connect, being out scored 9 to 2 by their opponents, with a 0.5 goals per game compared to 2.25 by its opposition.
If the Bobcats hope to return to the MAAC Championships and reclaim its title, fixing the small errors will aid the team’s overall success throughout conference play.
“These are just little moments that, again, we can fix, and at the end of the day, we did create chances within these games, so it’s important for us to remember that,” Alves said.
