On Saturday evening, the Quinnipiac Bobcats fell to the Brown Bears in the first round of the NCAA tournament by a score of 3-0.
Brown, the number No. 3 seed in the bracket, hosted Quinnipiac, the No. 14 seed, with both squads looking to make a statement early.
It was a slow start for both teams as, the first 10 minutes was more of a feeling-out process, seeing no shots from either side.
15 minutes into the game, the Bears broke the ice.
Brown’s Brittany Raphino played a deep pass into the box and got her head onto the ball, and after Madison Mandleur misplayed the ball, Ava Seelenfreund was right on the spot to poke a goal past Sofia Lospinoso for a 1-0 lead.
Later on in the half, Lospinoso got her revenge on Seelenfreund when she got a pass in all alone on goal, but Lospinoso was able to make the save.
This was one of five saves made by Lospinoso in this one.
“(Lospinoso has) grown as a goalkeeper,” said Quinnipiac head coach Dave Clarke. “She made a couple of great saves, to keep it where we stayed in the game.”
Her best save came off a free-kick opportunity from the Bears that came off the foot of Seelenfreund. The ball was destined for the upper corner, but Lospinoso was able to make a flying save to get a hand on it to keep it a 1-0 game.
The scoring was not over for the Bears in the half, as with 15 minutes remaining, the Bobcats found themselves lost on the defensive end following a corner, and Layla Shell was able to take full advantage, putting the shot in at the back post, making it 2-0.
The game got a bit feisty after this goal, as Quinnipiac assistant coach Steve Coxon received a yellow card one minute later following complaints he made towards the ref. This was one of three yellow cards handed out on the night.
Moving into the second half, the match became more of a defensive stalwart effort between the two squads.
The biggest play was when the Bears had a open shot in the box, and Kayla Mingachos made a sprawling save in front of Lospinoso to keep it out.
Following this, it was more of the same as both teams were pushing forward but were unable to get a goal.
In the final minute of the game, following a Bobcats’ turnover, Raphino was able to get in on a breakaway and bury it past Lospinoso to ice the game and make it a 3-0 score line.
This game marked the end of the Bobcats’ 11-game unbeaten streak and their first loss since Sept. 17 against Princeton.
“I don’t think we played as well as we were capable of playing,” Clarke said. “At times we did, but overall the effort, what Maddie Alves did, you know, proud of what they did.”
The team now heads into the off-season looking to build off another successful campaign.
