Golf readies for NEC Championships

Golf readies for NEC Championships
By Jeremy Schilling
April 30, 2008

HAMDEN — The Quinnipiac Bobcats Golf team played twice in the last week as they gear up for this weekend’s Northeast Conference Championships. In the Peacock Invitational held on April 22 in Neshanic Station, NJ, the Bobcats finished 9th out of 12 teams. And in the Northeast Invitational held on April 24-25 in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, they finished 3rd out of 10 teams, their best finish of the spring season so far.

At the Peacock, the Bobcats finished with a team score of 320. Monmouth University won that portion of the competition with a score of 295, a 5 stroke win over Rider. Individually the Bobcats were led by Jayson Loranger who carded an 18-hole score at the Neshanic Valley Golf Course of 76. That gave Loranger a 9th place finish overall in the individual portion of the competition. He was followed by Ryerson Stinson who shot 78, Ryan Reynolds with 79, Ben Cook with 87 and Kyle Chumas with 91.

At the Northeast Invitational held on the Green Valley Golf Course, the Bobcats shot a team score of 608 tying them with Central Connecticut State for 3rd place. The winner was Bryant University who shot a team score of 590. Individually for the Bobcats they were led by Brady Giroux who shot a 36-hole score of 146 that left him with a 4th place finish in the individual competition. He was followed by Charlie Niland with a 152, Jayson Loranger with a 155, Ian O’Connor with a 156 and Ryan Reynolds with a 162.

Now the Bobcats look to cap their season off right with a good showing at the Northeast Conference Championships this weekend.

“We had two good showings at the tournaments and I feel very eager and optimistic about the conference tournament this weekend. The guys are playing better than they have all season. We have three sub par rounds this season and I know we can add to that list,” head coach John O’Connor said.

“Ian O’Connor and Ryan Reynolds shot two under par rounds and Brady Giroux shot three under par at the URI event,” O’Connor continued. “Freshman Charlie Niland is beginning to show that he can go low while walk-ons Jayson Loranger and Ryan Reynolds have both had top ten finishes. The conference has seven good teams and any one of the teams can win. I’m hoping its Quinnipiac!”

If O’Connor’s hopes come to fruition they will have to do it this weekend, May 2-3, on the Hershey Links Golf Club in Hershey, PA. Tee Times both days start at 9 a. m. After struggling out of the gate and for most of the season, the Bobcats will be looking to end their season on a high note with a good showing in front of the best the Northeast Conference has to offer. Now they just need to execute and go low.

NEC Women’s Lacrosse Champion Decided in Classic Fashion

NEC Women’s Lacrosse Champion Decided in Classic Fashion
By TJ Buzzeo
April 29, 2008

HAMDEN — Many expected that the re-match between the Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart women’s lacrosse teams would be a great game, however few thought it would be a classic.

The lead flipped back and forth between both teams several times, with goals being scored almost at will until the 16:33 mark in the game. After sophomore midfielder Lyndsey Banach scored to tie the game for the Bobcats at 13, the game was scoreless until the 2:18 mark when the Pioneers senior attack Liz Ottey scored to regain the lead for Sacred Heart.

Junior midfielder Tiffany Manzi tied the game for the Bobcats with her third goal of the game with just 32 seconds remained in the game. However, the excitement would not stop there as sophomore attack Kelly Bruneau had two shots on goal with 14 seconds remaining and was unable to give the Bobcats the lead.

Sophomore goalie Chelsea Wagner was able to stop both of Bruneau’s shots and get the ball up to her offense with just enough time for junior attack Amanda Williams to set up sophomore attack Carissa Hauser for her fifth goal of the game to win it for the Pioneers.

The first seven minutes of the game were sloppily played as seven goals were scored and a numerous amount of penalties called. At the end of that seven minute span Quinnipiac held a 4-3 lead, but would be without senior attack Katy Delagi who left the game with a leg injury immediately following her second goal of the game which came with 24:17 remaining in the first half.

Although the quality of game play improved as the first half went along, gaols were still being scored almost at will. The Bobcats had their biggest lead of the game with 4:12 remaining in the first half, when junior midfielder Ashley Valentine was able to beat Wagner to extend the lead 10-7. Any thoughts of a comfortable win for Quinnipiac were thrown out the window almost immediately when Sacred Heart scored two quick goals to cut the deficit to one at the half.

The second half was very similar to the first with the lead changes and the inability of either team to pull away from the other. Then, with three seconds left and overtime looming overhead Hauser was able to sneak a shot past sophomore goalie Hannah Nelson to win the game for the Pioneers.

Quinnipiac played well in their first ever NEC title game, but as Quinnipiac head coach Danie Caro put it, “Sacred Heart made plays when it counted.”

After the game the All-Tournament team was announced and three Bobcats were honored. They were Manzi who had five goals and an assist in the two games, Delagi who had three goals and an assist, and senior defender Jamie Zeitler who added a goal in the championship game to go along with her tremendous defense.

With only Delagi and Zeitler graduating, and having the NEC Player of the Year (Manzi), the NEC Defender of the Year (Nelson) and the Coach of the Year (Caro) returning the Bobcats are in a position to make another run at the NEC Championship again next year.

Ready for the Ride: Oppenheimer, Benzing help Bobcats advance to Motor City

Ready for the Ride: Oppenheimer, Benzing help Bobcats advance to Motor City
By Sam Friedman
April 27, 2008

HAMDEN — There were plenty of reasons for the Bobcats to leave it all out on the field on Saturday. A chance to make the playoffs after starting the season 6-0. A chance to earn a trip to Detroit for the 2008 Great Western Lacrosse League playoffs. An opportunity to silence the opposing team’s trash talking, as both teams did plenty of that throughout the game.

After a slow start to the game which saw multiple misfired passes, a low shot total (13 combined), and a lot of fatigue for both teams ended with an exciting finish as the Bobcats got a very late extra man goal from freshman Jack Oppenheimer with 1:08 left in regulation on Senior Day to send the Bobcats to Detroit as the number four seed in the conference tournament.

For most of the first quarter it was clear just how much the travelling had taken a toll on the players’ bodies. Bellarmine was at the end of a five game road trip. Quinnipiac had just come back from a four game swing of their own. Both teams traded bad passes yet scored twice in the opening frame. The Knights Shane Anderson scored his first of two goals just three and a half minutes in with a shot that was too low for Benzing to reach. Ted Dimond answered with 8:46 remaining in the first to even the score. Oppenheimer earned his first of two goals in the first, with a low shot of his own past Knights goalie Scott Bowles to give the Bobcats a 2-1 lead.

After Matt Holland re-tied the game, Todd Kaiser scored his eighth goal of the year two and a half minutes into the second quarter by intercepting a bad pass from Bowles and circling the net and shot it in to give Quinnipiac a 3-2 lead. The game intensity picked up, as both Benzing and Bowles were forced to make quick decisions to keep the score low, and both goalies had the fortune of seeing shots go off the goalposts instead of past them for goals. The score was 3-2 at the half.

In the second half the teams began to play more aggressively. Just as the Knights had killed a 30 second pushing penalty from Hessel on his push from behind on Poerio, Dilan Graham gave the Bobcats another man advantage five seconds after Hessel was released from his infraction. Fortunately for Bellarmine, the Bobcats failed to score on either man advantage.

After Dimond scored his second goal of the game with 9:19 remaining in the third, Andersen got one back for Bellarmine with 2:49 left in the third. The Knights also got a man advantage on a delayed slashing call on Maceranka, but they did not score. The score was 4-3 after three.

Bellarmine’s season and career goals leader Adam Gardner scored two goals 29 seconds apart to give the Knights a 5-4 lead with 8:12 remaining, but Bobcat sophomore Zach Dendas responded on a man up with 5:57 left by firing a quick shot through a screen past Bowles.

Geoff Griffiths of the Knights was sent off for cross-checking with 1:36 left in regulation, and rather than wait for sudden death, Oppenheimer fired a low shot past Bowles throught traffic with 1:08 left to steal the spotlight. The Bobcat’s defense, with some help from Benzing, was able to hold off the Knight’s desperate final attack for the 6-5 win.

“I knew if I got a chance to play I would stick one,” Oppenheimer said of his game-winning tally. “Messina moved it down to me on the wing and I knew I was going to rip it.”

“In the big picture we talked about what our goals were,” coach Eric Fekete said. “we added this playoff, the team’s been ready for it all season, and that’s been our goal all season. If we go to Detroit, we’ve got a shot at the bid. This team’s worked hard, and I’m proud of them.”

Coach Fekete also spoke positively about the seniors who will play at least one more game in a Bobcats uniform.

“It’s a really unique group of seniors. Those guys are athletic and savvy. All these guys in their own unique way chipped into the success of the team. This is a team thing and they’ve done a great job.”

Bellarmine finished 7-7 on the season, 0-5 in conference play, and 1-4 on their road trip. Quinnipiac was 2-3 in conference play and 8-4 on the season. The Bobcats will play Notre Dame at 5 PM in Michigan on Friday, and the Buckeyes will face the Pioneers following the conclusion of the first game. The Championship game and automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Tournament will be on Sunday an noon.

NOTES: Messina had two assists, on both of Oppenheimer’s goals. … Kasier and Poerio had an assist each for the Bobcats. Jamie Floris had the Knight’s only assist on Gardner’s second goal. … A goal in the 4th quarter by Oppenheimer was nullified because he was in the crease when he scored.

Bobcats Play in Rhode Island and Maryland, Get Two Top 15 Finishes

Bobcats Play in Rhode Island and Maryland, Get Two Top 15 Finishes
By Jeremy Schilling
April 27, 2008

HAMDEN — The Quinnipiac University Men’s Golf Team played in two events over the last 2 weeks and came out with two top 15 finishes. They started out April 12-13 at The New England’s where they finished in 10th place, and then the Mount St. Mary’s Invitational where they finished in 13th place.

At The New England’s, where the Bobcats finished 10th, Yale University topped everyone with a team score of 583. The Bobcats shot 641. Quinnipiac was led individually by Charlie Niland who tied for 39th overall with a 36-hole score of 159. Next was Ryan Reynolds with a score of 160. He was followed by Ian O’Connor with a 163, Brady Giroux with a 164, and Jayson Loranger with a 165.

Next, on April 18-19, at the Mount St. Mary’s Invitational, the Bobcats finished 13th with a team score of 919. Longwood University won the team portion with a score 863. Individually for the Bobcats they were led by Jayson Loranger who had a 54-hole score of 227, placing him 28th overall in the individual portion. Next was Ryan Reynolds with a 233, Ian O’Connor with a 235, and Brady Giroux and Charlie Niland who both had 236.

Women’s Lacrosse Advances to the Championship Game

Women’s Lacrosse Advances to the Championship Game
By TJ Buzzeo
April 25, 2008

HAMDEN — Earlier today the Quinnipiac’s women’s lacrosse team beat Mount St. Mary’s 12-11 to advance to the NEC Championship. The slim victory marks the first playoff win for the Bobcats in their NEC history.

The Mount came out red hot to start the game and took an early 7-2 lead in the first half. Then Head Coach Danie Caro called a timeout and got her team’s act together. The Bobcats came out of the timeout and scored the last four goals of the half cutting the deficit to one.

Junior, Midfielder Katelyn Catanese and sophomore, Attack Ashley “AJ” Johnson scored six of the seven goals for Mount St. Mary’s. Catanese put four in the back of the net while Johnson added two.

Junior, Attack Ashley Valentine was able to keep the Bobcats in the game with both of her goals on free position shots.

Mount St. Mary’s came out of the break strong with a goal in the first 33 seconds of the half. That would be the only goal for the Mount for about 15 minutes as Quinnipiac would go on a tear, scoring five unanswered goals to take a 11-8 lead. The three goal lead would not last long as Johnson would pick up her fourth goal of the game followed by a goal by senior, Midfielder Rebecca Douglass, who scored her first goal of the game cutting the lead to one. Quinnipiac would score the 12th and deciding goal when sophomore, Attack Katie Latonick put one in the back of the net.

Douglass added the final goal of the game, but it was all for naught because sophomore, Goalie Hannah Nelson was able to shut out the Mount for the last 2:52 of the game.

Five Bobcats had multiple point games led by Valentine’s hat trick and sophomore, Attack Kelly Bruneau added two goals and an assist. Junior, Midfielder and recently named NEC Player of the Year Tiffany Manzi added a couple of goals. Freshmen, Lauren Matuszczak had a goal an assist in the victory. Senior, attack Katy Delagi and Latonick each added two goals also.

Although Nelson started off slow giving up seven goals in the first 24:26 minutes of the game. After that the 2008 NEC Defensive Player of the Year and only gave up four goals in the last 37:34 of the game and gave her team a chance to comeback and win the game.

Junior, Midfielder Meghan Latonick said, “We had to dig from deep inside ourselves,” when speaking about her team’s comeback.

Head Coach Danie Caro, the 2008 NEC Head Coach of the Year, spoke about her team’s first ever playoff win saying, “It felt good, but it wasn’t the prettiest win.”

In the Bobcats previous five playoff appearances they had lost in the first round each time. This year the Bobcats are the one seed and broke their playoff losing streak, which included a loss to the Mount last year in the first round when the seeds were reversed.

The Bobcats will play the championship game against Sacred Heart, who defeated Monmouth 12-11 later on Friday. The game will take place at 12 p.m. on Sunday at the Turf Complex, and can be heard on the Bobcats Sports Network presented by WQAQ.

Weber tosses a gem, Quinnipiac snaps seven-game skid

Weber tosses a gem, Quinnipiac snaps seven-game skid
By Jamie Palatini
April 24, 2008

HAMDEN — Eric Weber’s 7.1 shut-out innings propelled the Quinnipiac Bobcats to a 3-0 win over Fairfield in Hamden on Thursday. The win was the first of the season for Weber (1-4), who came into the game with a lofty 9.28 ERA. The win ends the Bobcats’ seven-game losing streak, putting their record at 9-25. The loss drops Fairfield to 11-26.

Quinnipiac drew first blood in the 2nd inning. Designated hitter Pete Kummerfeldt lead off the inning with a line drive that bounced off the top of the right center field wall for a double. Joe Poletsky’s single moved Kummerfeldt to third, and right fielder Blake Barone’s RBI groundout gave Quinnipiac the 1-0 lead.

The only other scoring in the game came off the bat of Quinnipiac catcher Bobak Emamian in the seventh inning. With Anes Koummal on first base, Emamian drove a 1-2 pitch from Fairfield starter Rick Piccirillo over the left field wall for his first career home run, making the score 3-0 Bobcats.

But the story of this game was Weber’s command. The senior from New Milford, Conn. scattered seven hits, struck out four and only walked one. He didn’t allow a count to get to three balls on any batter until the seventh inning when he walked Fairfield first baseman Dave Brizzolara. Of his 102 pitches on the day, 76 of them were strikes.

Weber worked out of a few difficult situations as well. In the top of the third inning, he overcame errors from John Delaney, Tyler Turgeon, and Bobak Emamian by striking out Fairfield shortstop Tucker Nathans with runners on the corners to end the inning. Weber was also able to induce two groundball double plays in his 7.1 innings of work.

Veteran Joe Duffy came in for the last 1.2 innings to pick up his second save of the year. Duffy entered in the eighth with runners on first and second with one out, but got second baseman David Dudish to ground into a 5-4-3 double play to thwart Fairfield’s final threat.

The Bobcats will look to build off of this win when they start a four-game series at home on Friday afternoon against LIU. The game will start at 3pm, and can be heard live across the Bobcats Sports Network presented by WQAQ.

Women’s Tennis awaits first-round NCAA opponent

Women’s Tennis awaits first-round NCAA opponent
By Michael T. Lyle, Jr.
April 22, 2008

HAMDEN — After dropping a 7-0 decision in their regular-season finale at Stony Brook, Women’s Tennis Head Coach Mike Quitko said his squad would have to put up a dominating effort in order to clinch a fifth consecutive championship in the Northeast Conference tournament.

The events over the past weekend from the Mercer County Tennis Center in New Jersey prove the top-seeded Bobcats did just that, knocking off Saint Francis (PA), Mount Saint Mary’s, then Long Island University to secure the NEC crown and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

“It feels great, “said Quitko. “The kids played very hard and I’m elated to pull a championship out of this.”

The Bobcats locked up the victory on Sunday when sophomore Mary Wilson defeated LIU’s Selma Babic, 6-4, 6-3, clinching the decisive point in singles action.

Senior star Amanda Petruzzi added to a victorious afternoon for Quinnipiac, and also made some history in the process. She scored a double-winner for the Bobcats and coasted to a straight-set victory in singles action, picking up her 100th and 101st wins of her illustrious career.

“She was a great contributor,” said Quitko of Wilson. “LIU was a tough match, but she and Amanda were great. I thought everyone was instrumental in getting the win.”

The Bobcats didn’t waste much time getting back into the swing of things, as they resumed practice this week in preparation for their first-round opponent in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Quitko may not know who his team will face in the opener, but knows that whomever they’re matched up against, it’s going to be a daunting task because it will likely be against a top-16 foe from one of the powerhouse conferences.

Quitko, though, says he doesn’t see it as pressure because he likes a good challenge.

“We like to have fun with the selections,” he said. “It’s great for us and great for the school. We love going out and representing our university well.”

The pairings will be announced next Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m. on ESPNEWS.

Monmouth Completes Weekend Sweep of Quinnipiac

Monmouth Completes Weekend Sweep of Quinnipiac
By Jamie Palatini
April 21, 2008

The Quinnipiac Bobcats saw firsthand what an all-around solid baseball team looked like this weekend. And they weren’t looking in the mirror.

With a 4-1 victory on Sunday, the Monmouth Hawks completed a four-game sweep of Quinnipiac this weekend in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Through the four games, Monmouth outscored Quinnipiac 39-10. The Hawks now stand atop the Northeast Conference at 23-9 overall and 11-1 in conference play. Quinnipiac’s overall record is now 8-24, and the Bobcats now reside at the bottom of the NEC with a 3-9 conference record.

Game 1: Monmouth took the first game of the series 18-5 behind starter Brad Brach who pitched eight strong innings, allowing only two runs on eight hits. Quinnipiac’s Chris Gloor took the loss (1-4) giving up seven runs, four earned, on eleven hits. The Hawks broke things open once they got into the Quinnipiac bullpen. Todd DeFrancesco, who has been one of the best relievers this year for the Bobcats, was lit up for nine runs on 10 hits in only 2.1 innings of work. Catcher Michael Marmo was the lone bright spot for Quinnipiac, providing most of the offense for the Bobcats with two home runs and three RBIs.

Game 2 (7 innings): The first game of a doubleheader Saturday went to Monmouth by a score of 10-3. Quinnipiac led 1-0 after Ben Farina scored on a wild pitch in the first inning, but it was all Monmouth from that point on. Tyler Brett (2-4) was touched up for seven runs on 10 hits over 4.2 innings. The top of the lineup was key for Monmouth, with the 1-2-3 hitters going 8-12 with five runs scored and five RBIs. John Delaney drove in two runs for Quinnipiac with his sixth home run of the year.

Game 3 (7 innings): Monmouth took the second half of the doubleheader 7-1 on the strength of a dominant pitching performance by Matt Marc-Aurele. The Wayne, New Jersey native pitched six innings, allowing one run on three hits to earn his second win of the year. Andy Mayer (2-2) took the loss for the Quinnipiac allowing seven runs, four earned, over four innings. Michael Marmo and Blake Barone were the only Bobcats to reach base in the game.

Game 4: The Hawks completed the weekend sweep on Sunday with a 4-1 victory. Again, the story was fantastic pitching from Monmouth. Brett Brach (3-1) pitched 6.2 innings and allowed only one run while scattering five hits. Joe Duffy went the distance for Quinnipiac, allowing four runs on six hits to take the loss. Freshman third baseman Ryan Terry went 2-2 with an RBI and two runs scored for Monmouth.

The weekend was a culmination of the problems Quinnipiac has had all year; spotty offense, erratic pitching, and bad defense. Pete Kummerfeldt has cooled off after a big start to the season, and has just two hits in his last 17 at-bats. The Bobcats’ defense committed nine errors over the four-game series. The pitching staff gave up 39 runs. They’ve now lost six straight games, and are 3-15 in their last 18 games.

But a lot of the credit has to be given to Monmouth, who’s 11-1 NEC record is tops in the conference. Monmouth is an offensive powerhouse, with a lineup that boasts seven starters with batting averages over .300, and double-digit RBI numbers for every starter. The pitching staff is just as good. Monmouth has two solid starting pitchers in Marc-Aurele and Brach, both of whom have earned run averages under 2.75.

Quinnipiac will look to snap their six-game skid Wednesday when they travel to Burlington, Vt. to face the University of Vermont in a doubleheader. This will be the second time these two teams have met in the last week; Vermont beat Quinnipiac 10-7 this past Wednesday in Hamden.

Women’s Lacrosse wins share of NEC regular season crown

Women’s Lacrosse wins share of NEC regular season crown
By TJ Buzzeo
April 16, 2008

HAMDEN — Going back to the end of March Quinnipiac’s Women’s Lacrosse team has not lost a game. Now going into its last game of the regular season it is on a seven game winning streak.

On Friday April 4, the Bobcats were going for their third consecutive win as they took on Robert Morris. The Colonials were looking up at the Bobcats early and often in the game as Quinnipiac took a 3-0 lead within the first five minutes of action. The first half was all Quinnipiac all the time as they took a commanding 9-2 lead into the locker room.

The second half was much like the first. The Bobcats stayed in control all half and outscored the Colonials by seven goals again. Each team would score one less goal as Quinnipiac won the second half 8-1, and the game 17-3.

12 Bobcat players scored points and six had multi-point games. Sophomore attack Kelly Bruneau accumulated six points with five goals and one assist. Junior midfielder Tiffany Manzi, and Freshman midfielder Lauren Matuszcak also added 3 points with two goals and one assist each.

Sophomore goaltender Hannah Nelson played tremendously in the net for Quinnipiac. Nelson made 12 saves while only allowing three goals as she picked up her fifth win of the year, extending her 10 plus saves a game streak to six. She also added five groundballs in the game.

St. Francis (PA) would visit the Bobcats on Sunday April 6, and would be sent home very disappointed. The Bobcats kept rolling and kept St. Francis (PA) winless on the year with a 19-3 drubbing.

In the first half Quinnipiac dominated opening up with a 16-1 lead. The first goal of the game for St. Francis did not come until there was only 30 seconds remaining in the first half. The second half was much closer, but still in favor of the Bobcats 3-2.

16 different Bobcats scored points and eight put up multiple points. Senior attack Katy Delagi led the way for Quinnipiac with four points, putting up three goals and one assist. Manzi also had another very good game with two goals and an assist. Freshman attack Christine Sinnigen also added her first goal at the college level.

Central Connecticut State visited Hamden on Wednesday April 9 and the Bobcats were not very good hosts as they sent Central home with a 17-4 loss. The Bobcats made their gusts feel unwelcome right away as they took a commanding 11-1 lead into the locker room and did not allow the Blue Devils to score from the 26:47 mark in the first half until the 20:53 mark in the second. The second half was not as one sided as the Bobcats only outscored Central Connecticut by three goals.

The Bobcats again had over eleven people scoring points with 11 and out of those 9 scored more than one point. Leading the way for Quinnipiac were Manzi and Matuszcak who each had four points. Manzi had three goals and assist, while Matuszcak had one goal and three assist.

Nelson only made five saves while letting three goals go through on route to her seventh win of the season, as the team improved its record to 7-4.

After three straight home games the Bobcats went on the road to keep their winning streak alive when they went to nearby Sacred Heart on Friday April 11. More than just the Bobcats win streak was on the line however, as both teams were also battling for first place in the NEC.

The Bobcats would not roll to an easy victory like they had in their past four wins, as the Pioneers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. Quinnipiac battled back in the first half to make it 6-4 as the intermission horn sounded.

The second half was another battle for both teams, but this time Quinnipiac would strike first. The Bobcats scored the first four goals of the half to take a two goal advantage. The lead did not last long as Sacred Heart came back to force a tie at nine with 8:53 left in the game. With 4:37 remaining Matuszcak would score the final goal of the game giving the Bobcats a 10-9 advantage as the game ended.

Manzi and Bruneau were the leaders for Quinnipiac each collecting 3 points. Manzi had the hat-trick with three goals while Bruneau added one goal and two assist. Nelson also played another great game in goal for the Bobcats as she ended her two game skid and made ten saves.

In an attempt to make it seven consecutive wins and win at least a share of the NEC regular season title Quinnipiac would need to be victorious over Mount St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg, Md. After a very close game against Sacred Heart, the Bobcats wanted to get back to winning comfortably and that is just what they did.

The team jumped out to a 7-2 lead after playing one half and was able to keep The Mount at bay in the second outscoring The Mount 5-2. The comeback seemed like a possibility at the beginning of the second half as Mount St. Mary’s scored two goals quickly to narrow the lead to three. However, the Bobcats buckled down and shut out The Mount the rest of the way while putting up five goals of their own as they picked up their seventh win in a row.

Bruneau and Manzi headed the victory yet again for Quinnipiac each with four points apiece. Bruneau had two goals and two assists, while Manzi got all four of hers by putting the ball in the back of the net.

Nelson had another strong performance stopping nine shots while only allowing four goals and added four groundballs as well.

With the win the Bobcats clinched at least a share of the regular season NEC title as their conference record went to 7-1. The team still has one more out of conference game when Colgate visits Hamden on Sunday April 20 before the beginning of the NEC playoffs.

Bobcats split against Denver and Air Force; Notre Dame awaits

Bobcats split against Denver and Air Force; Notre Dame awaits
By Sam Friedman
April 15, 2008

Playing in the altitude of Colorado is tough on any player for any team in any sport. This is particularly true in lacrosse, where physical play combined with a lot of running and — for the Bobcats this past weekend — two games in three days equals a tired road team in many cases.

In fact, it was so cold in Colorado that Friday night’s game against Denver was played with snow flurries coming down on the players thruought the contest.

This time however, the story was different. The Bobcats men’s lacrosse team won the second game on the Colorado double header, an 11-10 win in overtime over Air Force after losing to Denver 14-8 Friday night.

Against Denver the Bobcats fell behind 4-0 in the opening quarter. Pioneers freshman Jamie Lincoln scored his first from Kyle Widerstedt just 51 seconds in, shooting the ball right outside Benzing’s crease. In all the outstanding freshman scored 6 goals against the Bobcats, recording his “first” hat trick with 6:58 remaining in the 2nd to put the Pioneers up 6-1, and got his second hat trick of the game as the seconds ticked down that made the score 14-8.

Teammate Cliff Smith also recorded a hat trick for the Pioneers, scoring his first with just one second remaining in the 1st and his third in the 4th quarter which made the score 12-7. For the Bobcats, only Todd Kaiser recorder a hat trick, scoring all of his goals in the second half, including the Bobcats final goal.

Goalie Kevin Benzing gave up 14 goals and stopped only 11 shots, while the Pioneers gave all three of their goalies playing time at some point in the game.

Against Air Force the Bobcats got off to a better start. Down 5-4 at halftime, they put five shots past Falcons goalie Woody Johnson to take a 9-7 lead after 3 quarters, but found themselves down 10-9 with just over a minute to go when the Falcons scored on the man advantage.

But Bill Hayes tied the score at 10 from a Messina pass with just nine seconds remaining in regulation, shooting it past Johnson’s left side about 10 yards out. In overtime, the Bobcats’ own Todd Kaiser added onto his hat trick from Friday, scoring his first goal of the game when it counted. He took a Poerio pass past Johnson on the right post with 1:40 remaining in overtime.

Kaiser had just three goals coming into the weekend, but more than doubled it to seven after the weekend.

“Playing in the high Colorado altitude is always tough,” head coach Eric Fekete said. “We just got caught off guard against Denver. The last 3 quarters (against Air Force) were dead even. I just think you can see the confidence coming back to the team.”

Garret Kerr, the Bobcats leading goal scorer, scored just once the entire weekend. He has 16 goals on the year.

The Bobcats are now 1-2 in conference play, 3-2 on the road and 7-3 on the year. Up next is powerhouse Notre Dame, currently ranked 13th in the nation’s Inside Lacrosse poll and 10th in the USILA coach’s poll. Notre Dame is 1-1 in conference play, while Denver moved to 3-0 to tie Ohio State for first and Air Force is 1-2, tied with the Bobcats.

“They’re a good team,” Fekete said of Notre Dame. “There’s always some intimidations, some respect to be given to Notre Dame, but I’m more worried about how we play, and less about how they play.”

But Coach Fekete is unconcerned with the Fighting Irish’s ranking.

“Arguably the league (GWLL) could put three teams into the tournament, but it’s been such a crazy year in lacrosse that which three teams make it could change at any time,” he said.

After the visit to South Bend the Bobcats return home to face currently winless Bellarmine in Hamden on Saturday the 26th. Game time is 1pm.

NOTES: Denver also won the face-off battle against Quinnipiac, 18-7, who lost it to Air Force just 14-11. … Jamie Lincoln added another hat trick over the weekend for 35 goals on the season. He is 5th in the nation in goals. … All 19 of Quinnipiac’s goals came during even strength. After holding Denver to 0-2 on the man advantage, they gave up 2 goals to Air Force on 3 man advantage opportunities, and gave up one man down goal.