The Quinnipiac field hockey team looked to pick up its first conference win against the No. 6 Liberty Flames on Friday afternoon. 

The Bobcats entered the game undefeated at home, but have struggled against the Flames in the past. Quinnipiac is 1-7 against Liberty, lost 9-0 last year and hasn’t been able to put up more than one goal in a game. 

Just over five minutes in the first quarter, the Bobcats had their first opportunity from a penalty corner but weren’t able to find the net. Shortly after, the Flames would get their chance at the penalty corner, but the shot was blocked before reaching the net. With just 32 seconds remaining in the quarter, Liberty would get another chance with another penalty corner. The corner was sent in, and a quick shot by Morena Giacosa would give the Flames a 1-0 lead. 

“We knew their attack penalty corners were going to be very, very threatening their top four in the nation,” said Klein 

Three and a half minutes into the second quarter the Bobcats would have to play down a player after a yellow card was given to Rozemarijn Van Keule. Fortunately for Quinnipiac, this wouldn’t harm them, as they would be able to keep Liberty from scoring. 

The third quarter would really show off the Bobcats skills at defending the penalty corner, with the Flames getting six chances over the quarter. Within 5 minutes into the quarter, Liberty had 3 different chances.

 “You know, in a game, we already have a good corner unit, but if you know, we’re limiting three or four, maybe one a quarter would be ideal, in my eyes,” Klein said.

With 6:30 left in the third, Liberty sent a long pass into the circle and Luna Prieri finished off a cross-pass to make it 2-0.

Later in the quarter, Quinnipiac was able to stop three more penalty corner attempts, all within a minute of each other. 

With five minutes left in the last quarter, the Bobcats would pull goalie Cristina Torres in hopes of cutting the lead in half. Then, with 2:05 left in the fourth quarter, Quinnipiac forced a corner that was ultimately defended by Liberty to end the game. 

Liberty improved to 5-1 and is 1-0 in conference play. Quinnipiac now moves to 4-3 and 0-1 in conference play. 

Although the Bobcats came up short, Klein praised the team’s defensive effort.

“I kept turning to the bench and I would be like, that was amazing,” Klein said. “We would come out of nowhere defensively and get a stick in there.”

Quinnipiac returns to action Sunday at 1 p.m. at home against Merrimack.