HAMDEN — For Quinnipiac field hockey, Friday afternoon was less about the scoreboard and more about sending a message. The Bobcats took a loss from the No. 6 Liberty University, but despite the loss, they looked like a team that was determined to improve on the negatives from last year’s season.
To start, the Flames did an exceptional job this afternoon, giving Quinnipiac an amazing challenge and pushing the Bobcats to their fullest potential. All of which made the game extremely competitive and helped capture a win over the Bobcats.
The afternoon started energetically with a Liberty goal being waived off after review, leading with the Bobcats to surge the field with relentless pace, firing multiple shots and using misdirection tactics to throw off the Flames’ defense.
The Bobcats would carve out multiple open chances only to come up short against the Liberty defense, which contributed to a goal within the first minutes of the first quarter.
Bobcats struggled a great deal with turnovers, which allowed the Flames to control the field for a good amount of time and stay within the semi-circle for a good period of time
The Bobcats would also struggle with communication throughout the game, making teammates leave to figure out each other’s decisions.
From the opening whistle, Quinnipiac showed a lot of grit and fight. To start, Quinnipiac came out aggressively from the gate, trying to score on one of the first possessions at the start of the game.
A quick Liberty goal was waved off after review and the Bobcats would storm the field with relentless pace, firing multiple shots and using misdirection to unsettle the defense.
Sophomore midfielder Francisca Eschoyez and senior forward Cameron Brower anchored an aggressive back line while junior defender Katie Shanahan made continuous disruptions to Liberty’s passes with deft stick deflections.
Despite the tough play that Quinnipiac exhibited, Liberty never lost steam and the Flames, who were coming 4-1, capitalized on Quinnipiac turnovers and earned a late first-quarter penalty corner to take the lead.
Senior goalkeeper Christiana Torres kept the Bobcats within reaching distance of Liberty, but it could not stop taking advantage of the weak Quinnipiac defense and would control early in the second half. Liberty made it 2-0 midway through the third quarter, despite a spirited run by senior midfielder Mo Quaile, freshman Rozemarijn Van Keulen, junior forward Martina Calviera and sophomore midfielder Lucia Donati. Quinnipiac struggled to push through.
The Bobcats would attempt to get a penalty goal in the fourth but would be denied by Liberty’s goalkeeper.
The Bobcats’ grit and determination still stood out despite the loss. As all of the Bobcats showed off their effort and willingness not to give up.
Last time the Bobcats played Liberty, they lost 9-0, but this the Bobcats squad in this game looked poised, organized and energetic, showing that they were not afraid of the sixth-ranked team in the nation.
Freshman Maaike Van Wessen showed extremely great ball control and Torres was able to turn away multiple shots that Liberty struck on Quinnipiac.
Although passing miscues and missed penalties were a problem, and fatigue would start creeping up around the halfway point, the Bobcats refused to give up and still challenged the opponent with the willingness to scrap and fight for every possession, showing Bobcat fans that this is a very productive season.
Quinnipiac ends the afternoon 4-3, with the Bobcats looking extremely promising this afternoon and showing Quinnipiac fans why they can be extremely valuable this season and give other teams within the conference a legitimate challenge.
