The Quinnipiac women’s soccer team fought its way to a 2-1 win over Northeast Conference rival Mount St. Mary’s Sunday afternoon on the Quinnipiac Soccer Field. The Bobcats’ victory over the Mountaineers improved their NEC record to 2-1-2, while the Mountaineers dropped to 0-4-1.
After 41 minutes of scoreless action, the Bobcats got on the board. Junior midfielder Kristina Del Mistro came in off the bench, received a pass from junior forward Furtuna Velaj, crossed it over to sophomore Jill Strassner, who headed it into the top of the goal.
“Furtuna got on the ball a lot, and played in Kristina, who we’ve been working on not to turn back,” Quinnipiac head coach Dave Clarke said. “She didn’t turn back on the cross, she didn’t turn back on the goal, delivered a great cross in, and Jill, for once, kept the run down and then finished it, so that was an excellent goal in terms of the team buildup. Kristina’s was excellent in terms of individual ability.”
Eleven minutes into the second half, Velaj set up Del Mistro once again. Del Mistro received a pass through the Mountaineers’ defenders, and rocketed the ball into the top-right corner of the net.
“I’ve been playing in the center a lot this year,” Del Mistro said, “and [Clarke] was playing me out wide, it’s more of a one-on-one out wide so I was just beating [my defender]. That’s why I was getting a lot of crosses off.”
The Bobcats held the Mountaineers until the 82nd minute when their playing “left a lot to be desired,” according to Clarke. Mount St. Mary’s Sarah Malpezzi picked up the ball on a deflection and sent it into the lower-right corner of the goal.
“There’s a cliché in soccer that two-nil is the most dangerous score to have,” Clarke said. “I’d still rather it be two-nil than one-nil, but there’s a reason being that you sometimes feel too comfortable. You give up a goal and now you’re on your heels, and we were for that five minutes when we never should have been in that position.”
Quinnipiac held off Mount St. Mary’s for the rest of the match, with most of the play taking place in front of the Bobcats’ net. The clock ran out with the Bobcats in the lead for a 2-1 win.
Photo credit: Alessia Tranfaglia
