By Angelique Fiske, QBSN Chief Editor
The hope of overtime was dangling in front of the women’s soccer team Sunday, but St. Joseph’s Mo Hawkins ripped it away with four seconds remaining. Hawkins capped off the team’s three unanswered goals in the second half with the game-winner, as the Hawks defeated the Bobcats 3-2.
Quinnipiac went up quickly in the first half with much thanks to Aine McKeever. Just two minutes and 37 seconds after the first whistle blew, McKeever put one past Lauren Jancuska.
She struck again later in the half on a free kick just outside the box. In the home opener, McKeever scored her first two goals of the year.
After a tough 5-0 loss to Georgetown in its season opener, Quinnipiac’s chances looked up. McKeever and freshman Jessica Fontaine worked the outside, the defenders pushed away any advances the Hawks made and goalkeeper Natalia Grodzki found a groove.
Unfortunately for the Bobcats, so did Emily Gingrich. She and the Hawks came out firing in the second half. Gingrich scored two goals within 33 seconds to set up Hawkins’ heroics.
The big momentum change came on a Quinnipiac foul inside the box. Gingrich hit a light shot into the lower right of the net for her first of the game. Her second was a harder kick, one big enough to squash what was left of Quinnipiac’s momentum.
Head coach David Clarke, though recognizing his team’s strong first half, made it clear that the defense needs to stand strong in both halves.
“We’ve got to defend better in the last 10 or 15 minutes,” Clarke said. “Three goals are unacceptable.”
Senior defender Taylor Healey said the Bobcats exemplified all of the work they put in during preseason, but ultimately, they just fell short.
“Everything we’ve done the past three weeks we put out onto the field, and it really showed,” she said. “I think we were either too confident coming out in the second half or just got tired, but I mean, it’s a pretty tough loss right here.”
Quinnipiac gets its second chance of the season to win in front of the home crowd as it hosts Brown on Sept. 6.
