The sun shone brightly in Hamden on Saturday, making the perfect fall backdrop for Quinnipiac rugby’s matchup against the Army Black Knights.
The Black Knights came in ready for a battle. The offense was on the attack as they spent most of the first half in the Army offensive zone. Eleven minutes into the first half, Army’s Yesenia Morales dodged both Quinnipiac defenders as she sprinted into the try zone to make it 5-0. To cap it off, Alissa Eisenhart completed the conversion through the goalposts to make it 7-0.
“They hit us as hard as I thought they would,” said Quinnipiac prop Lilly Morris. “They kind of have that notoriety around them.”
While both sides remained quiet, Army’s offense came to life towards the end of the half to make it a two-score game. Chloe De Leon made it past Quinnipiac’s Fia Whelan and ran up the far sideline to the corner of the try zone to make it 14-0.
The Bobcats had a few chances near the end of the half but were unable to make it into the try zone, allowing Army to complete the first-half shutout.
“I think when we look at it statistically, we are going to be quite upset,” said Morris. “The missed tackles in the first half, those opportunities we just basically handed them the ball like we didn’t care. That’s gonna hurt.”
The Bobcats were not ready to give up yet, as they came into the second half looking to make a comeback against the Black Knights.
“It would have been really simple for us to allow them to continue to pressure us and for us to roll over after 14, but we didn’t,” said head coach Becky Carlson. “We made those adjustments, and our line speed was better and we started to work together.”
Layla Cox attempted to start the scoring off for the Bobcats after sprinting down from midfield and into the try zone. The try was called off, keeping it a scoreless game for Quinnipiac.
As time continued to tick down, the Bobcats kept looking for their first try of the game. Just under halfway through, Lily Morris ran into the left side of the try zone to get Quinnipiac on the board.
The Bobcat’s offense became ignited as Layla Cox carried the ball over into the try zone to make a one-score game.
“I think what we can take away from today is that we did make two tries on that field,” said Morris. “That score would look a lot different if we made the right decision at the right time.”
Both teams battled until the very end, but the Bobcats were unsuccessful in their comeback attempt and had their first loss of the season to the Black Knights with a final score of 14-10.
“The game isn’t going to suddenly get easier next week,” said Carlson. “Looking forward to the next game, it’s going to be tough.”
With the loss, Quinnipiac now sits at 4-1-2 and will look to play Dartmouth on Oct. 26 for their final home game of the season.
