On the evening of March 25, Quinnipiac women’s lacrosse was making the over 400 mile trip from Buffalo, N.Y., to Hamden following a heartbreaking 15-14 loss to the Canisius Golden Griffins.
“You never want to lose a game but when you lose you learn,” Quinnipiac head coach Jordan Solari said on ESPN+. “Today, we learned what that lesson was.”
Two offensive powerhouses dueling to see who comes out on top. It’s the textbook definition of a back and forth battle.
In chapter two of that battle, it was the Bobcats that came out on top, defeating the Golden Griffins 13-11 in the first round of the MAAC Tournament. And just like their meeting in March, this chapter was yet another battle.
“We weren’t going to let that happen again,” sophomore goalkeeper Shannon Alden said postgame on ESPN+.
The key to getting offensive success for Quinnipiac has been its offensive depth. The Bobcats have six 30-point scorers, including a 77-point year from senior attacker Cate Bendowski and back to back 50-point seasons from senior attacker Mia Delmond.
That depth was on full display in the first frame as five different Bobcats entered the scoresheet in the first 15 minutes.
First Team All-MAAC member and sophomore midfielder Emma Miller-Ayala got the scoring started, side stepping a Canisius defender and beating graduate student goalkeeper Isabel Gautreaux through the legs and into the back of the net.
Freshman midfielder Charlotte DeMaio closed out the first quarter scoring by threading the needle past Gautreaux off a pass from Delmond to give the Bobcats a 5-2 lead after the first 15 minutes.
That scoring prowess extended into the ensuing quarter. After a trio of goals from Miller-Ayala and senior midfielder Julia Givens, the Golden Griffins began repeated threats to the cage of sophomore goalkeeper Shannon Alden with offensive possession after offensive possession.
But then, after a free position shot from sophomore attacker Leah Pfeiffer hit the post, sophomore midfielder whomst scooped up the ground ball and gave the Bobcat defense a much needed breath of fresh air.
After a timeout from Solari on the opposite end of the field, sophomore attacker Peyton Choma extended the Bobcat lead further. The Mount Sinai, N.Y. native stutter-stepped junior midfielder Maddie Fitzgerald and launched her second of the game past Gautreaux, extending the Bobcat lead to four.
The Bobcats would add to their lead one more time before the half, with Bendowski finding the net to make the score 10-5,
Once again, the Bobcats found themselves firmly in the drivers seat. And once again, the Bobcats began to let up.
A plethora of silly defensive mistakes led the Golden Griffins to climb their way back to the campus. A pair of goals from Fitzgerald and contributions from sophomore midfielders McKenna Crouse and Ashlyn Dhandwar brought Canisius within two.
The Bobcats sloppiness continued even after the momentum swing. After a suspect call on Miller-Ayala, Canisius went on the woman up advantage and made use of it. Having the ball in a free position shot opportunity, senior attacker Maggie Lift went low and beat Alden to bring the game within a score.
“We never gave up, even when they came back a little bit,” Alden said. “We believed our way through the entire game.”
The Bobcats would get much needed insurance scores from Givens and Delmond to grow the lead to three. Dhandwar kept the Golden Griffins in the game, but in the end, Alden was too much for Canisius, as two crucial saves and long offensive possessions sealed the win and brought hte Bobcats to their second MAAC Quarterfinal in as many seasons.
“She’s battled through the ups and downs of this year and has stayed steady the entire time,” Solari said. “She is our teams engine.”
Quinnipiac now turns to it’s eyes to their in-state rival down I-95 in the Fairfield University Stags, for their second matchup in as many weeks with a MAAC Championship berth on the line. Face off from Rafferty Stadium is set for noon.
