Two First Half Goals Pushes Seton Hall Past QU Women’s Soccer, 2-1

Monday, August 29

Owen T. Carroll Field - South Orange, NJ

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

2-1-1

Seton Hall

2-1-0

Quinnipiac

Seton Hall

Two First Half Goals Pushes Seton Hall Past QU Women’s Soccer, 2-1

8/29/2016 9:49:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: QU Sports Information

SOUTH ORANGE, New Jersey – In a very evenly played back-and-forth affair, the result came down to set pieces and unfortunately for the Quinnipiac women's soccer team, Seton Hall was just one better on Monday evening. Despite building an early 1-0 lead, two set piece scoring chances were executed perfectly by the Pirates and the 2-1 halftime deficit ultimately stood in favor of the home side. Quinnipiac's loss is the first for the Bobcats (2-1-1) in 2016 while Seton Hall improves to 2-1.

"I am disappointed in the manner of the two goals, but not upset because we have not as yet spent time working on defending set plays," said Quinnipiac head coach Dave Clarke. "I decided to focus on other areas of our game and I think that showed in the manner of the overall performance. This was no moral victory. I thought we deserved something from the game and created some clear cut chances. Tonight's performance is our standard for the remainder of the season."

Playing a Big East opponent for the first time since 2012, Quinnipiac was primed and ready for the highly-anticipated non-conference foe. Both sides saw possession early but Kelly Caruso (Rocky Hill, Connecticut) was the first to cash in on a brilliant free kick opportunity.

The sequence began with Nadya Gill (Toronto, Ontario) taking the ball near midfield and driving up the middle of the Seton Hall defense. As she began to take on two defenders, Gill was tripped up just outside the box which drew the whistle from the referee. A free kick specialist, Caruso lined up her shot and drove the ball over the Pirate wall before the ball spiraled into the top left corner of the cage. Caruso's first goal of 2016 gives her five over her four-year career while the last three straight have come off set pieces.

Just as momentum shifted in favor of the Bobcats, the Pirates came roaring back as a perfectly executed corner led to the equalizer. Frankie Maier set up along the far side and her right-footed strike curled to the opposite side post. As the ball came looping inside to under six feet, Marissa Aniolowski managed to place a header on the cross that beat Devan Malcolm (Natick, Massachusetts) to make it 1-1.

Perhaps the best scoring chance developed by the Bobcats all evening came minutes later as Gill sent a through ball to Al Pelletier (Cheshire, Connecticut) streaking up the left wing. With the sophomore possessing the ball on her dominant right foot, Seton Hall keeper Anna MacLean came off her line to challenge the shot and the move paid dividends as Pelletier's shot was hit right at the diving keeper.

Just as the Bobcats were denied on a quality scoring chance, Seton Hall managed to cash in on the momentum shift with another set piece strike. A loose foul called on the Bobcats just four yards outside the box drew the ire of the Quinnipiac bench but the ensuing goal was quality as Frankie Maier swiftly hit the set piece around the Bobcat wall and past a diving Malcolm to the upper right corner of the cage.

An uneventful second half followed as Seton Hall shifted to a defensive mindset and limited the Bobcats to just two shots on target throughout the final 45 minutes of play. Another strong scoring chance came with less than three minutes to play as Pelletier ran down a through ball from Jess Fontaine (Enfield, Connecticut) in the midfield. She fired in a cross to the far post that had its eyes set for the head of Kylie Lance (Stow, Massachusetts) but MacLean made the correct play and jumped up to grab the cross out of midair, denying the Bobcats of what would have been a golden scoring opportunity.

Playing for the second time in four days and coming off an overtime draw at NJIT on Friday afternoon, the Bobcats' starting lineup featured four players starting their first game in 2016.

"The staff and I feel that we have more depth than we have had in previous years, so we decided to change things up," said Coach Clarke of the new-look lineup. "It will help keep every player engaged and fighting for playing time. I also had to factor in that we went to overtime against NJIT while Seton Hall had the week off. The players who came in played very well and contributed to a fine team performance. We now have five full days to get ready for our next game. We will give players some extra time off and come back fresh and ready to prepare for a busy week."

The stat categories were even throughout as Seton Hall posted a slight edge in shots (10-9), saves (4-3) and corner kicks (4-2). The Bobcats did outshoot the Pirates 4-2 in the second half alone.

A return home for the Bobcats is next on the docket as Quinnipiac will play host to Delaware State on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 12 PM. Quinnipiac fans can also catch the men's soccer team in action following the conclusion of the women's game at 3 PM. The men will host Lafayette.