Light rain fell down over the Quinnipiac Soccer & Lacrosse Stadium as the Quinnipiac women’s soccer team hosted Canisius for their first home MAAC matchup of the season. The Bobcats fought to a 2-0 victory ending the Golden Griffin’s eight-game unbeaten run.
Quinnipiac controlled the game from the opening minutes. The Bobcats had early shots with Emely van der Vilet and Olivia Scott missing wide.
The game quickly turned into a physical affair, with Sophie Chelini picking up a yellow card inside the 15-minute mark for the Golden Griffins. The game would go on to see a total of four yellow cards and 14 fouls by each team.
Despite having more possession and numerous opportunities Quinnipiac failed to find the back of the net. One opportunity included a cross by Evelyn Keay which was headed by van der Vilet, but missed wide right.
The game remained scoreless at the half.
Early into the second half, Scott put the Bobcats in front when Madison Mandeleur set up a goal off a freekick following a Canisius handball.
Mandeleur took the free kick from about 30 yards out and sent the ball into the middle of the box. The ball took a deflection before finding the head of van der Vilet, who sent the ball across the face of the net, finding the foot of Scott who crashed the net.
“With us, we find that we are a second-half team,” said Scott postgame. “We knew coming into this game that Canisius is a very chippy team… we knew it was coming and taking the emotion out of the game was going to help.”
Quinnipiac continued to pile on the pressure. The Bobcats’ next best chance came in the 52nd minute when Courtney Chochol took a shot that hit the crossbar. No Bobcat was able to push the ball over the line for the rebound.
“We tweaked the formation a little bit,” said Quinnipiac head coach Dave Clarke. “We just said listen, the game plans working, it’s just that shots actually need an extra touch around the 18 (yard box) and that we need to deliver balls into key locations, and that’s what we did.”
It was Chochol who in the 82nd minute would double the Bobcat’s advantage. After a Canisius foul, the ball found its way to Milena Branco as the referee signaled an advantage. Branco played the ball to Chochol on the left end line and she used a piece of skill to not only keep the ball in but cut around her defender.
Chochol sent in a cross which was tapped in by Branco herself, after she made a run to the top of the six-yard box. Canisius goalie Jordan Spencer got a piece of the ball, but couldn’t completely control it.
“We have speedy players on our team, so we always try to implement that into our game and practice,” said Branco. “We just keep going and when I come on the field I try to make an impact, so I use my speed to my advantage.”
Quinnipiac is now 2-0 in MAAC play this season both home and away, after beating Niagara 4-0 on the road. The Bobcats will continue their MAAC schedule next weekend when they travel to New Jersey to take on Rider University.
