HAMDEN — Women’s soccer matched its best score of the season Saturday afternoon, scoring four straight goals and earning a 5-1 victory over Saint Peter’s University.
The win, coming on a day celebrating the senior graduating class and Quinnipiac Fights Cancer, was a significant one for the Bobcat side on all fronts.
Before the game even started, the Bobcat team would honor all four members of the ‘26 graduating class: midfielder Molly Andrews, defender Madison Alves, forward Milena Branco and forward Morgan Cupo.
“It’s very exciting to have everyone supporting us, and how far we’ve all come to being seniors now,” Cupo said.
The seniors, as well as graduate student goaltender Gwen Hoyt, graduate student midfielder Ana Carlos and junior midfielder Liv MacDonnell, would all receive honors before the game, celebrating what may be their final season in a Bobcat uniform. All of them, with the exception of Carlos, would have the opportunity to take the field for the opening kickoff.
For MacDonnell, the honor to step on the Bobcats’ home turf one more time was an insurmountable one. Due to medical retirement, she will be unable to return to the field, even after the extensive rehabbing she did throughout her time at Quinnipiac.
“To be honest, it was a little overwhelming at first, because I just got to process it,” MacDonnell said.
The celebration, which included MacDonnell initiating the opening kickoff, was a testament to how close-knit this Quinnipiac squad is.
“Honestly, I don’t know if I would have gotten even this far without the team,” MacDonnell said.
It was that same team that would rally around both MacDonnell and the graduating class, pressuring Saint Peter’s early into the game.
Branco would start off the scoring, driving the ball down to the Peacocks’ end line. Her first of three assists on the afternoon would find the foot of freshman defender Corey Andersson in the center of the penalty area, whose one-touch shot would beat freshman goaltender Berglijot Kristinsdottir.
Despite the final score, initially it seemed that Saint Peter’s would keep the contest close. A tough foul in the box would give Peacocks’ junior midfielder Joana Dias an opportunity to tie the game, and she would deliver on the penalty kick.
Even with the tie score midway through the first half, Dave Clarke’s squad would capitalize in the final “frantic five.” Junior midfielder Caroline Matyczyk would center the ball in the box, with freshman Isabella Torelli fighting off Saint Peter’s pressure to put the second goal away.
“I just said, ‘this would be the perfect time to score,’” Clarke said . “That second goal, that just…changes their halftime team talk. It changes mine.”
Quinnipiac took that momentum from the end of the half into the final 45, imposing its will on the offensive end of the ball. The second senior point of the afternoon would come off the foot of Andrews, scoring on an open net off a Kristinsdottir misplay, for her first of her senior season.
After the third score, the Bobcats would continue to put on the pressure. Over the course of the match, Quinnipiac would earn 14 corners by pressing the Peacock backline and preventing Saint Peter’s from maintaining any time in the final third.
Despite a few timely saves by Kristinsdottir to keep the goal difference at one, her efforts couldn’t withhold the Bobcat offense. Two quick scores in the 67th minute, from Cupo and junior forward Evelyn Keay respectively, would finish off Quinnipiac’s four unanswered goals.
Out of the four seniors, three of them, including Cupo, would score in the afternoon’s contest.
“We wanted to make sure once we got the first, we were gonna get the second and to just keep pushing,” Cupo said. “I mean we’ve all come so far from freshman year to now. So just being able for everyone to contribute, it was exciting.”
Despite the dominant win, Quinnipiac is still pushing itself to grow into a MAAC-contending team. For Clarke, that includes trying out new players in the rotation, as well as familiar faces in new locations. Cupo, the team’s leading point scorer, would finish the game at centerback.
“He really wants me to work on my clearances, and just being in a position role kind of simulating one nothing up,” Cupo said.
The big win also allowed for 24 different Bobcats to see the field, further allowing Clarke to assess his squad going into the second half of the season, something that continues to be necessary as Quinnipiac remains, at the time of publishing, at the top of the MAAC.
Quinnipiac will travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to take on Marist on Oct. 8. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
