By: Randy Del Valle Follow @RDelValle_19
A win is a win and Quinnipiac will take one no matter how it comes.
The Quinnipiac women’s soccer team defeated Iona at home on Wednesday, winning its second straight conference game, despite some sloppy play.
After struggling to find the back of the net in the first half. Quinnipiac scored two times in the second half, beating Iona 2-1.
Unlike the Fairfield game where the Quinnipiac scored two times in the first half, the Bobcats struggled in the first half getting shots off and converting on their chances.
“The decision making was poor, because we had opportunities to take the shot and we were too slow,” Quinnipiac head coach Dave Clarke said. “In the first two minutes we had three great chances. Al (Pelletier), Kelsey (Goldring) and (Lauren Triglione) were in behind and didn’t deliver it. One ends up getting blocked, one ends up going out for a corner. If we don’t get a shot off, we don’t get a cross off and then you’re just inviting pressure.”
Unlike the Bobcats, the Gaels had four shots on goal, but none of them found the back of the net. Quinnipiac junior goalie Olivia Myszewski made all four saves, including one that came in the 40th minute to keep the game tied at zero to end the first half.
Pelletier didn’t think the team played as strong as they usually do in the first half of the game.
“We just didn’t do our best, we didn’t set our standard high from the first five minutes,” Pelletier said. “We knew they were a team that were going to come out strong. We didn’t match their intensity enough.”
The second half was a different story for the Bobcats, as they consistently put pressure on the Gaels defense and made better decisions with the ball.
In the 53rd minute, freshman Emily Loney got through Iona’s defense and passed to Selena Salas. The Gaels defenders blocked her shot.
Sophomore Kelsey Goldring picked up the rebound and took a shot of her own. The Gaels defenders again blocked the shot.
The ball bounced back to Salas who then passed it back to Goldring. The redshirt sophomore saw her second shot attempt prevail, getting by Iona goalie Emma Havrilla, scoring the first goal of the game and her fourth of the year.
Kelsey Goldring strikes again!
4th goal of the season for #22 puts the Bobcats on top, 1-0.#BobcatNation pic.twitter.com/6e5lqSQkbF— Quinnipiac Women’s Soccer (@QU_WSOC) September 26, 2018
After the first goal, Quinnipiac’s offense started to control the ball and attack.
In the 64th minute Pelletier had an open shot, but her strike hit the left goal post. Frustrated, she hustled back into possesion and about 30 seconds later had a chance for redemption.
Senior Jess Gargan sparked the play with a sliding tackle to regain Quinnipiac position. She passed to junior Jenn Maldonado, who then fed the ball back to Pelletier who took a shot and this time scored. It was her second goal of the season, bringing Quinnipiac’s lead to two.
Moments after ringing the post, Al Pelletier scores on a tic-tac-toe play to double the Bobcats lead!#BobcatNation pic.twitter.com/R0EeGLjjYT
— Quinnipiac Women’s Soccer (@QU_WSOC) September 26, 2018
“I saw it hit off the post and I was like I need to get back in this and I can’t give up,” Pelletier said. “So when I saw that I had the other opportunity. I was like low and hard back post, hope someone finishes off of it or hope it rolls in the back of the net. So I did that.”
But it didn’t take long for Iona to answer.
In the 67th minute, the Gaels got on the board after Amber Crispin scored her third goal of the season. Iona put pressure on Quinnipiac’s defense in the final 13 minutes of the game, forcing the Bobcats to constantly clear the ball out of their defensive zone.
Myszewski shut down Iona’s shot attempts, making three saves in this window, one coming at the 87th minute sealing the victory for Quinnipiac.
Although Clarke didn’t think this was his team’s best performance, he was happy to get the win and the three points.
“We gave up the silly goal to sort of bring them back in and that’s a game you gotta close out better than we actually did,” Clarke said. “In a couple of weeks its three points, nobody will remember the performance except me and some of the coaches.”
“Today was a grind, you know we played well on Saturday against Fairfield, we didn’t play well today. But, the more important thing is we got the three points,” he said.
With the win, Quinnipiac is now 2-0-1 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Iona remains winless at 0-3-0 in the MAAC.
Next up for the Bobcats is a road matchup against Niagara on Saturday, looking to win their third straight conference game.
