HAMDEN — For the first time in four seasons, the Quinnipiac Bobcats season would end before the MAAC championship game. In its Thursday afternoon matchup, Quinnipiac would pull out every stop in its 2-1 semifinal loss to the Canisius Golden Griffins.
All sports are matters of mere inches and soccer is no exception. A single inch, left or right, can determine the fate of a season.
Quinnipiac’s matchup against Canisius was no different.
When the game began, it seemed that the Bobcats were going to be on the beneficial end of that principle. Pure effort on the offensive end in the opening five set the tone for the Quinnipiac side, with sophomore midfielder Addyson Earl starting the contest with a steal right in front of the Canisius goal.
The subsequent shot was just barely blocked by a Griffins defender, but the momentum was already established in the Bobcat’s favor. A small Canisius push for possession in the middle of the first wasn’t enough to change the feeling of the game.
This contest was Quinnipiac’s to lose.
As the half progressed, the familiar chippiness that Quinnipiac came to expect against Canisius began to rear its ugly head. The increased physicality echoed the ghosts of the Bobcats last bout with the Griffins — a 2-0 victory that was more memorable for its frustrating officiating than for the gameplay itself.
As the first half clock steadily ticked toward minute 45 of play, Quinnipiac would once again have another great chance. Down the near sideline, the Bobcats would execute a near perfect give and go, opening up a cross for senior forward Morgan Cupo.
The cross sailed cleanly through the box, missing multiple Bobcats by mere inches, harmlessly rolling out of bounds for a Canisius corner.
That remained the tale of the tape for both sides. A few close range chances missed just off target, or just wide, or were scooped up by both goalkeepers; Quinnipiac sophomore Olivia Jarvis and Canisius freshman Chloe Tseros.
Quinnipiac came into this contest with one of the strongest defensive groups in the MAAC in the second half of the season, only allowing two goals in the entire month of October. That defensive prowess showed against the Griffins, only allowing three shots on goal in regulation. After staving off first half pressure from Canisius, it was the offensive effort that would shine in the second.
Quinnipiac amped up its offensive attack. Earning only two corners in the first half, it was as if the Bobcats flipped a switch in the second. Nine corner kicks had the Griffins on their heels, with the offensive attack forcing Canisius to pack its defense tight into the penalty area.
Once again, the Bobcats seemed in total control.
Then, on a simple breakout, the entire trajectory of the game changed.
Officiating is an area of sport that is always contentious, especially in high-leverage games where both teams are unafraid to play hard-nose, physical soccer. Making a judgement in those situations is objectively difficult.
When Canisius’s junior forward Maggie Cregan tripped on the edge of the penalty box, every person in the stadium understood the magnitude of this decision. Everyone understood the implications of a penalty kick 49 minutes into a scoreless semifinal game.
It was so important that the referee stopped the contest, stopped the clock and went to confirm if it was freshman defender Marina Mahon that initiated the trip.
If Mahon’s foot was a couple inches forward when Cregan stumbled, or had Cregan fallen a couple inches back from where she did, perhaps this call wouldn’t have been so impactful.
But it was.
The referee confirmed the penalty kick, and Cregan took her opportunity to bury the dead ball for the Griffins. 1-0.
The Bobcats, despite the manner of Canisius goals, didn’t quit, sustaining pressure on the opposite end before an eerily similar play materialized on the opposite end 58 minutes into play.
This time, Canisius would commit a foul at close range. The takedown would leave the ball in the hands of freshman defender Corey Andersson, who would perfectly drive a freekick from just beyond the half-circle, inches past Tseros’ outstretched fingertips, to tie the score.
The stadium erupted and there was an overwhelming feeling that whoever broke the tie would be the one to win the contest.
Quinnipiac seemed dead set on making sure it was its squad that left Hamden happy after the goal. Pressure only increased, mounting as the minutes turned to seconds on the game clock. A corner near regulation time’s conclusion nearly put the game on ice, foiled only by an off-target Cupo header.
Despite the pressure going into a golden-goal overtime, head coach Dave Clarke and the rest of the squad seemed cool and collected. Even with the influx of youth on this team unfamiliar with collegiate playoff pressure, the team remained composed.
“You have to take the pressure off them,” Clarke said. “They haven’t dealt with (overtime) because it’s not in the regular season.”
In overtime, the Bobcats continued to fight hard. For much of the first ten-minute overtime period and almost the entirety of the second, Quinnipiac retained possession and pressure, pounding the Griffins with an additional four shots by the end of both periods.
One such shot even seemed to cross the goal line. On one of Quinnipiac’s five corners during the second overtime period, it appeared that Cupo punched the ricocheting ball over the line before it was cleared.
It was too close to call. On the Canisius side, the ball was just inches from crossing the line before a breath-taking defensive play saved the season. For the Bobcats, the ball was the final lucky break in a game where execution was near impossible to come by.
The officials once again went to video review, but technical difficulties made the action void. The Bobcats were left with no goal, and were back on the field with only eight minutes to make magic happen before penalty kicks.
Unfortunately for Quinnipiac, the game would go to the latter.
“It’s a great way to win. It’s a terrible way to lose,” Clarke said.
Terrible didn’t begin to describe it. Hundred and ten minutes of soccer, and the entire season, decided by ten shots.
And unfortunately, even with a valiant effort by Jarvis to keep fighting off the Griffins penalty kicks, it would be too much. Quinnipiac would lose its first game to Canisius in eleven seasons, with the Griffins advancing to the MAAC finals 4-3 on penalty kicks.
“For the game we had and the domination, the corners, the chances, the clearances…credit to them.” Clarke said.
As the Griffins celebrated the victory, the Bobcats came together one final time to watch. Silent and somber, the 2025 Quinnipiac women’s soccer team stood on the field together one final time.
