Quinnipiac Women’s Soccer Makes Statement with 4-0 Victory
September 19, 2022
The women’s soccer team could not have asked for a better start to conference play, as they crushed MAAC rival, Niagara four to nothing. Not only was it their first game in conference play, but it was also senior day for the women’s soccer team, and Quinnipiac University was hosting Bobcat/Alumni Weekend. With all of these events happening simultaneously, the Bobcats still managed to steal the spotlight with their dominant win over the Purple Eagles.
When asked about the statement this makes to the rest of the MAAC, junior Rebecca Cooke said, “It just shows how good we are to come out with a four to nothing win on the first day especially with all the distractions, senior day, parents weekend. It shows that no matter the distraction we can get it done.”
“It was obviously a big game, rank 1 against rank 2 it’s always gonna be a tough game. Niagara is definitely one of our toughest opponents this year so, to get a four to nothing win in the first game and to get all the seniors out on the field as well was great,” Cooke added.
Head coach Dave Clarke also touched on the deeper meaning that conference games have. “Yeah, there is a difference. Non-conference games, even if you’re playing what you think is a rival, they know it means more than URI, Yale, or any other games.”
The Bobcats played this game with more aggression and showed that this was more than just “another game.” They put the rest of the MAAC on notice, showing they can play through any kind of adversity and distractions that come their way.
Olivia Scott touched on the mindset this team wants to have moving forward. “Our big thing all year is being a flat track bully and we haven’t really brought it out yet, but I think starting off like this just goes to show [that] everyone’s gonna be scared to play us and we have to embrace expectations,” Scott said.
Clarke went on to clarify what it means to be a flat track bully, “Here’s the best example in American sports, UCONN women’s basketball. When they’re expected to win by 20, they win by two, if they’re expected to win by five, they win by six. If they’re expected to win by one on a buzzer-beater, they win by two or three. When you’re better, you’ve got to punish teams. So if you’re capable of winning six nil, you win seven nil. If it’s a grind you win one nil, but when you’ve got a team that can score goals, go score multiple goals.”
While the big story was the four to nothing victory, senior Meaghan Phillips talked about what it meant to her to start in goal for the Bobcats on her senior day.
“It was like chills. I don’t know how to describe it, but from the moment we got here this morning everybody was so excited and we honestly couldn’t stop smiling. It was such a good day seeing my parents, my sister watching and everybody around it was so good,” Philips said. “Once we got that first goal we just shut them down and hearing everybody cheer in the stands, it’s like one of those moments you’re gonna remember forever. You hear all the chanting, all the cheering and you’re just on the field but the field is quiet, so it was really awesome.”
With senior day behind them, the Bobcats will look to build on this statement win, as they’ll travel to Buffalo on Saturday, Sept. 24 to take on Canisius.
