FAIRFIELD — Heading into the regular-season finale for Quinnipiac women’s lacrosse, the stakes were simple. If the Bobcats could beat in-state rival Sacred Heart, Quinnipiac could keep its MAAC Tournament dreams alive.
It’s a challenge the squad stepped up to, taking down the Pioneers in resounding 16-9 fashion Saturday afternoon.
“I’m super proud of our group, to be able to come to someone else’s turf on their senior day and still handle our business, knowing that we’re kind of fighting for our lives here,” head coach Jordan Solari said.
And fight the Bobcats did. Even though the lopsided final score doesn’t show it, Quinnipiac spent much of the first half fighting to hold off a surging Pioneers. Despite Sacred Heart’s offensive struggles in MAAC play, the home team was ready to punch its ticket to the playoffs.
Two quick scores by the Pioneers set the pace for the contest early, with the home team remaining firmly in control for the first half of the quarter. Even with the Bobcats new single-season points record holder, senior attacker Cate Bendowski, putting the offense on her back, the team was playing catch-up.
To make matters worse, Quinnipiac couldn’t seem to stop the scoring onslaught. Coming into the contest, Sacred Heart was near the bottom of the MAAC in average goals scored in conference play, with 6.36, yet put four straight shots past sophomore goalkeeper Shannon Alden in the opening quarter.
Yet, the Bobcat offense continued to pick up the slack, keeping pace with the Sacred Heart attackers. A touch pass from the Bobcats’ leading goal-scorer, senior attacker Mia Delmond, to sophomore attacker Peyton Chroma tied the game at five before a final-minute shot by sophomore midfielder Emma Miller-Ayala gave the Bobcats a slim 5-4 lead heading into the second quarter.
Despite the score, something in net had to change. So with the season on the line, Solari made a tough decision, pulling Alden for freshman Maddy Ward.
“Shannon is still an incredible goalkeeper,” Solari said. “She just wasn’t seeing it super well today so we went to Maddy…and she was able to come up with some clutch saves that gave us momentum.”
A back-and-forth second quarter was characterized by good play from both Sacred Heart’s freshman goalkeeper Madalynn Eder-Linell and Ward, with both keepers making point-blank stops to slow the offensive production on both ends of the field.
“(Ward) stepped into a huge game today,” Bendowski said. “She is a spark to our defense. She talks, she’s very communicative with the defense, and she’s a brick wall.”
The defense, which has been shaky for the Bobcats for much of the season, stepped it up in the second and third quarters at just the right time. It started with effective Bobcat ball movement.
“They really do all the work when it comes to that, but (it’s) just having trust in our defense and our midfielders to do what’s right with the ball and take care of it,” Bendowski said.
In tandem with timely saves by Ward, the Bobcat offense was able to rattle shot after shot on Eder-Linell. Four unanswered goals in the period, started by senior midfielder Julia Givens completing her hat trick, only extended the Bobcat lead.
The pair of Delmond and Miller-Ayala stayed hot, scoring two and three points, respectively, to put the contest at 12-6 to start the final quarter.
By the end, it was too little too late for Sacred Heart. The Bobcats and Pioneers traded goals through the final 15 minutes, including junior midfielder Kendall Lee finding the back of the net for just the second time this season.
It was a special win for Quinnipiac. For the first time since 2010, the Bobcats had back-to-back winning seasons, and for the first time during their time in the MAAC, the team has appeared in the tournament in back-to-back seasons.
“There’s been a whole lot of ups and downs in my career here for this program,” Solari said. “I think to just know that when you stay steady, believe in what you are and believe in what you’re building, good things typically follow.”
For Quinnipiac, Solari hopes those good things will continue in the first round of the MAAC Tournament. With the final slate of games concluding Saturday, Quinnipiac’s first-round opponent will be No. 3 Canisius.
Face-off from Buffalo, New York is set for Sunday, April 26. The time for the contest has yet to be announced.
