HAMDEN — Quinnipiac men’s lacrosse will have to wait to break its nearly two year long home winless streak after falling in its home opener Friday to the UMass Amherst Minutemen 16-8.
History tells a tough tale between the Bobcats and Minutemen. In two career meetings coming into the Friday afternoon’s contest, Quinnipiac failed to put up more than five goals and allowed a combined 37 points. In last season’s matchup, the Bobcats were pumped for 19 goals on the road.
In the opening minutes of the first quarter, it appeared the Bobcats would be singing a similar tune. Off the opening faceoff the Minutemen quickly maintained possession — a theme for much of the first half — and put the defense on its heels.
Although the Bobcats matched UMass at the faceoff dot with four wins apiece, the Minutemen were able to capitalize on Quinnipiac mistakes. Seven turnovers and six recovered ground balls made all the difference in keeping the Bobcats out of the offensive end.
It wasn’t just the defensive efforts keeping the Bobcats off the scoresheet. Offensively, the Minutemen were stifling, particularly on outside shots.
“Defensively, we were scrambling a bit on sixes,” head coach Mason Poli said. “We were collapsing too much and giving them too many looks, especially with so many dangerous outside shooters.”
The Minutemen wasted no time capitalizing. Six goals in the opening frame, including UMass scoring on its first four shots on net, buried the Bobcats.
A hat trick from freshman attacker Colin Coyle in the second would put the half time score at 9-2, with Quinnipiac scoring a goal in each quarter going into the break.
“I think they came out and kind of punched us in the mouth,” head coach Mason Poli said. “As we settled in, I thought we got more comfortable. We just got to get believing a little bit earlier.”
In the second half, the Bobcats appeared to have that belief. In the opening possession, Quinnipiac began with new life. After a quarter-opening face-off win by freshman faceoff specialist Sean McCaffery, junior attacker Cole Marsala would put the Bobcats on the board, cutting the lead to just six.
Less than two minutes later, the Bobcats would once again put a dent in the UMass defensive armor, with ECAC Offensive Player of the Week, junior attacker Nate Watson, shaking off the tight coverage to slip a goal past sophomore goaltender Owen Salanger.
“You saw offensively, we were ready to kick that ball, we were able to get to the back side,” Poli said. “We started to find some open guys, got the scoreboard to move a little bit more.”
Graduate student goaltender Mason Oak remained the standout in the third, even as the Bobcats’ chances dwindled as the game progressed. A few key saves in close against the Minutemen kept the deficit to single digits.
“I thought Mason did a really good job, he was really strong inside,” Poli said.
An issue for both teams throughout the game was penalties, with each squad converting on the man-up. Each of the five goals on the man-advantage occurred in the final quarter, with the Bobcats going 3-5 and the Minutemen 2-5.
Even with the offensive prowess on the man advantage, the initial seven goal deficit was too big of a hole for the Bobcats to make up against such a talented team.
“We’re excited to see how this thing progresses,” Poli said. “It’s early in the season, not a finished product yet.”
Quinnipiac can continue to progress and find solutions before MAAC play begins, with three more nonconference contests before the squad takes on Siena on March 7.
“That’s where we try to test ourselves,” Poli said. We try to challenge ourselves and get some different looks.”
Quinnipiac continues that challenge with a quick home turnaround, returning to action on Tuesday, Feb. 17 to take on the St. John’s Red Storm. Face off is set for 2 p.m.
