The Quinnipiac field hockey team fell at the hands of the UConn Huskies, losing 3-2 in overtime in a highly competitive contest.
After 17 consecutive losses to the Big East rival which dates back to Oct. 4, 2002, the Bobcats wanted to come out with intensity to start the game which is exactly what they did.
Just over five minutes into the first quarter, graduate midfielder Stella Tegtmeier set the tone and found the back of the net to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead.
“We always try to put the ball in the back of the net,” Tegtmeier said. “We just try to do the best and our coaches give us the opportunities.”
UConn would answer a few minutes later to tie the game at 1-1. Graduate forward Julianna Kratz scored her sixth goal of the season.
Shortly before the end of the first quarter, the Bobcats found themselves with a penalty corner opportunity. Junior defender Kate Zamagni and sophomore forward Cameron Brower demonstrated great passing technique, as they found Tegtmeier’s stick for her second goal of the contest, making it a 2-1 Quinnipiac lead.
“She’s been inserted sometimes when we want to use Stella more up top,” Klein said of Brower’s penalty corner ability. “I think it’s something you might see a little bit more.”
The Bobcats would continue to lead throughout the halftime break and into the third quarter. For a moment it seemed as if the hosts would cruise by to secure their first victory in program history against the Huskies.
With about three minutes remaining in the third quarter, graduate midfielder Belle Bressler answered the call for UConn. Bressler tipped the ball past the outstretched reach of Quinnipiac’s sophomore goalkeeper, Cristina Torres to tie the game at two.
Throughout the fourth quarter, the Huskies ramped up the attacking pressure as they looked to extend their streak over Quinnipiac.
“I think what changed is that they were changing their press a little bit, so they were pressuring us really hard,” Tegtmeier said. “They were coming at us really fast. So that’s something we struggled (with) a little bit.”
However, with every Husky scoring opportunity came an unbelievable save from Torres which included a game-saving breakaway save late in the fourth quarter on UConn’s junior forward Sophia Ugo. Torres had 12 saves in the game which tied her season-high setback on Aug. 25 against New Hampshire.
“She had an amazing game,” Tegtmeier said of her teammate’s performance. “She had so many saves. She kept us into the game for so long.”
Torres would blank the Huskies for the rest of regulation and the Bobcats would need an overtime winner to break the drought.
Just 90 seconds into the overtime period, sophomore midfielder Sol Simone silenced the Quinnipiac crowd as she scored the game winner and extended her team’s historic streak to 18 wins in a row against the Bobcats.
“Obviously not the result we wanted today, but there was definitely a good fight from the team,” Klein said.
This was the first time since 2005 that the Bobcats had forced overtime against the Huskies.
“(It’s) something to be proud of and excited about, and show that we can compete with some top level teams,” Klein added.
The Bobcats will look to get back on track as the Maine Black Bears will travel to Hamden for an afternoon matchup on Sunday.
