QU Women's Soccer Returns Home for Sunday Meeting with Delaware State

Sunday, September 4

Hamden, Conn.

12:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Delaware State

QU Women's Soccer Returns Home for Sunday Meeting with Delaware State

9/2/2016 12:44:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Bobcats Look to Remain Unbeaten at Home in 2016

By: QU Sports Information

Quinnipiac Bobcats (2-1-1, 0-0-0 MAAC) vs.
Delaware State (0-3-0)
Sunday, September 4, 2016 • 12:00 PM
QU Soccer Field • Hamden, Conn.
All-Time Series vs. Delaware State (DI): 3-0

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Despite playing Seton Hall of the Big East evenly throughout the 90 minutes of play on Monday night, the Quinnipiac women's soccer team suffered its first loss of 2016 in a grueling back-and-forth affair. Kelly Caruso knocked in her first goal of the season on a perfectly struck free kick from 23 yards out to account for the lone Bobcat goal but two first half set piece strikes pushed the Pirates past Quinnipiac. With five full days to rest and prepare, the Bobcats make a much-anticipated return home with sights set on prolonging a two-game win streak in Hamden and get back on the winning side.

ALL-TIME AGAINST DELAWARE STATE (3-0-0)

The Bobcats have dominated this all-time series, standing unbeaten in three games with a combined score of 6-0 in those contests
After a six-year hiatus without playing one another, the two sides met last season for the first time since 2008 with the Bobcats coming out on top, 2-0
Nadya Gill scored the game-winner in the 73^rd minute while Jessica Jankowski added an insurance marker in the 81^st minute
Shots favored Quinnipiac 14-4 in that meeting in 2015 but only owned a 5-2 edge in terms of shots-on-goal
These two sides met in consecutive years in 2007-08 as the Bobcats won the first all-time meeting, 3-0, in Hamden followed by a 1-0 triumph in Dover the following year

SCOUTING REPORT: DELAWARE STATE

Delaware State (0-3) comes in having struggled in their first three games of 2016, losing all three by a combined margin of 13-0
The Hornets conceded four goal in a season-opening loss to Lafayette and followed with a 5-0 loss to Temple and 4-0 defeat to Hartford at home
The shot totals have been entirely one-sided in their matchups this season with opponents outshooting the Hornets 51-11 which equates to an overage of 17 shots per game for the opposing side compared to just 3.7 attempts per game for Delaware State
The 2015 campaign was arguably the best in school history for the Hornets as they set single-season best marks for most games played (20), goals (36), points (91), shots (235) and shots-on-goal (110) while they also set a new mark for most consecutive wins (four)
After closing out a strong regular season, Delaware State went on a defeat Hampton and South Carolina State to win the Independent Conference Tournament for the second straight season

CARUSO CARRESSING IT IN
Kelly Caruso notched the lone goal for the Bobcats in a 2-1 loss in South Orange to Seton Hall (8/29). 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.

DOUBLE DIPPING
Ally Grunstein factored heavily in the decision against NJIT (8/26) as her first two career goals helped lift the Bobcats to a 2-2 draw after trailing the Highlanders 2-0 midway through the first half. Grunstein immediately vaults up to a tie with Nadya Gill for first on the team in points and goals while she joins Gill as just the second freshman since 2009 to post a multi-goal game in their freshman campaign.

OVERCOMING THE ODDS
The Bobcats' 2-2 draw against NJIT not only kept Quinnipiac undefeated but it signaled one of the more significant results in recent memory. Prior to Friday's draw, the last time the Bobcats erased a two-goal deficit to either tie or win a game came all the way back on Oct. 3, 2008 when Quinnipiac defeated Robert Morris, 4-3, in double overtime. The near eight-year run spanned an incredible 119 matches since the Bobcats last accomplished the feat.

MOVIN ON UP
With her assist on Ally Grunstein's first goal against NJIT, Jess Fontaine made a move into the Top 10 all-time career record list at Quinnipiac with 13 career assists. She is now tied for 10^th with Steph Kehas '94. Just four more assists would put her past Furtuna Velaj '12 and give her the most career assists by any individual player in the last 15 years.

UTILIZING THE YOUTH
Through four games in 2016, six of the eight Bobcat goals on the season have been scored by underclassmen. Sophomores Nadya Gill (two), Al Pelletier (one) and Madison Borowiec (one) combine with freshman Ally Grunstein (two) for six of the team's goals this season. The lone non-underclassmen to score in 2016 have been Sarah Pandolfi and Kelly Caruso.

MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE
Devan Malcolm earned the starting nod for the Bobcats against UMass Lowell and delivered in what was her first career appearance. The sophomore keeper notched five saves to not only pick up the win but also record a clean sheet in her collegiate debut. She became the first Quinnipiac goalkeeper to post a shutout in their first career appearance since Class of 2016 graduate Natalia Grodzki recorded a two-save shutout in her debut against NJIT back on Sept. 7, 2012.

IT ALL PANS OUT
A missed 2015 season for Sarah Pandolfi had the Bobcats dealing with the loss of one of the team's main strikers. Two years removed from being just one of two Bobcats to start all 17 games in 2014, Pandolfi blasted home her first goal as a Bobcat in a 3-0 win over UMass Lowell. A transfer from UMass, Pandolfi finished her freshman year as a Minutewoman with two goals and one assist before transferring to Quinnipiac prior to the start of 2014. In her 2014 season, Pandolfi led the team with 35 shots while adding two assists in her 17 games.

THREE'S COMPANY
Three different goal scorers filled the stat sheet for Quinnipiac as Nadya Gill, Sarah Pandolfi and Madison Borowiec picked up the goals for the Bobcats in a 3-0 win over UMass Lowell. Gill recorded her second goal of 2016 as well as the 10^th of her career and sixth game-winning goal in 19 career appearances. After missing the entire 2015 campaign due to injury, Pandolfi blasted home her first career goal as a Bobcat in the win while Borowiec registered her second career goal and is now tied for second on the team in points with three.

LITTLE AL DOING BIG THINGS
Sophomore forward Al Pelletier had herself a dominant start to the 2016 campaign as she notched one goal and one assist, including the game-winning tally in the 82^nd minute that sent the Bobcats past Toledo, 2-1, at home in the season opener. Pelletier either scored or assisted on both of the two Bobcat goals on the day while she also picked up her first career game-winning tally late in the second half. Just one year removed from recording one goal in 10 games played ruing her rookie season, Pelletier eclipsed that season total in one game in 2016.

ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
After just one appearance, freshman keeper Olivia Myszewski has already made a little history as her seven saves goes down as the most by a Bobcat goalkeeper in their first career appearance in the program's Div. I era (since 1998). Myszewski's seven saves are the most since Elizabeth Cook notched six in her first career appearance. Myszewski also became the first Bobcat keeper to pick up the victory in a victory in their first career start since Cook helped lead Quinnipiac to a double overtime 1-0 victory back on Oct. 4, 2009.

A LOOK AT THE SQUAD
Just one year removed from the largest freshman class (13) in head coach Dave Clarke's 18-year tenure at Quinnipiac, 11 return and are joined by eight freshmen in 2016 as the Bobcats will again be one of the youngest teams in the nation for the upcoming season. Luckily for coach Clarke, the 19-member underclassmen group did gain some valuable experience last season as Quinnipiac returns 10-of-13 total players who saw time in at least 12 games in 2015. Among the large sophomore group, nine of the 11 returners appeared in at least nine games in 2015 and an impressive total of seven saw time in at least 14 games last season.

GUESS WHOSE BACK…BACK AGAIN
One huge key for the Bobcats in 2016 is the return of every member of the defensive core that gelled throughout the course of the 2015 season. The very inexperienced back line core that came together in 2015, consisting of then-junior Joanna Proctor along with then-freshmen Sarahkate Norton, Jess Cascio, Caroline DeBonis and Katrina Friedman, return completely intact for the 2016 season. Both of the Bobcat centerbacks in Norton and Cascio return having played in all 17 games in 2015 while ranking first and second on the team among field players in minutes played with 1495 and 1478, respectively.

NEW NETMINDER
With the loss of three-year starter Natalia Grodzki to graduation, the Bobcats will be looking for a new goalkeeper in 2016. Rising sophomore Devan Malcolm was a backup goalkeeper in 2015 but didn't see any playing time during the season, making her time as the Bobcats' primary keeper in the spring that much more important as she gained some valuable experience. Joining the mix in 2016 are freshmen Charlotte Edmunds and Olivia Myszewski. Edmunds enters with over 20 caps playing for the Wales Junior National Teams while spending the 2015-16 season with West Bromwich Albion. Myszewski dominated the state of Wisconsin, earning a highly-acclaimed 2016 NSCAA High School All-American honor while being named the 2016 WSCA Player of the Year following a 2016 campaign that featured 13 shutouts and 0.74 GAA while leading her team to the WIAA Division I State Championship.

LEADING THE WAY
Another key for the Bobcats in 2016 is the return of the top three scorers from 2015 as Nadya Gill, Jess Fontaine and Jess Gargan each put together double digit points last season. Gill hopes to repeat her success as a freshman when she led the team with 19 points (eight goals, three assists) on her way to earning the MAAC Rookie of the Year honor. Fontaine broke out in 2015 with a single-season career high 17 points (five goals, seven assists) as she either scored or assisted on a team-leading 41.4 percent of the Bobcats' goals last season. Gargan meanwhile finished third on the team with 10 points (four goals, two assists) while she was a driving force in the attack half, ranking second on the team in 2015 with 34 shots.

PUSHING FORWARD
Offense certainly was the strength of the team in 2015 as the Bobcats finished the season with 29 goals and 32 assists for an average of 1.71 goals and 1.88 assists per game which both ranked in the upper half of the MAAC last season. On a per-game basis, the Bobcats averaged the second-most assists per game of any team in the conference, finishing just behind Monmouth who posted 1.89 assists per game in 2015. The production on the offensive end signified a drastic shift from a 2014 season that saw Quinnipiac score just 11 goals in 17 games. The 29-goal total for the season stands as the most in a single-season for the program since 2001 (13 years ago) and the fifth-most ever for the Bobcats in the program's NCAA Div. I era.

SHOOT TO GILL
A dynamic attacking forward as a freshman, the 2015 MAAC Rookie of the Year Nadya Gill returns for her sophomore season with high expectations. Finishing the year with All-MAAC Second Team honors, the two-time MAAC Rookie of the Week started all 17 games in 2015 and ranked first on the team in points (19), goals (eight), game-winning goals (five), shots (53) and shots-on-goal (30). She ranked sixth in the MAAC in points and points per game (1.12) while she also sat tied for fifth in goals, fifth in goals per game (0.47) and second in game-winning tallies. Gill joined Jillian Strassner (2009), Kirsten van de Ven (2004) and Elisa Goncalves (1999) as the fourth player in program history to be named Rookie of the Year in conference.

FONTAINE OF YOUTH
An established threat in the midfield, Jess Fontaine returns for her senior campaign in 2016 following a highly productive 2015 season. Starting all 17 games, she logged 1400 minutes of playing time, the most for any non-defensive player on the team while she broke out with a career high 17 points. She led the team with seven assists and ranked second on the Bobcats with five goals. Fontaine also finished tied for seventh in the MAAC in points and points per game (1.00) while ranking second in the conference in assists and assists per game (0.41). She also sat high nationally, tied for 49^th in the nation with her assists per game total and tied for 71^st with her seven assists. She comes into her senior year as the team's active career leading scorer with 11 goals and 11 assists (33 points) in 49 games played.

CAREER YEAR FOR CARUSO
A terror for opponents off the bench all season, Kelly Caruso put together a tremendous junior campaign in 2015 that featured a career high eight points (two goals, four assists) in 17 games played (seven starts). Caruso tallied her eight points while playing just 934 minutes as she finished the season as the only player on the team to log less than 1,000 minutes while appearing in all 17 games. Out of all players on the team, Caruso enters her senior year with the most career games played (50) as she has tallied 17 points (four goals, nine assists) in her first three seasons.

HONORS ALL AROUND
Despite just missing out on the MAAC Tournament last season, Quinnipiac was still well-represented in the All-MAAC voting for 2015. Nadya Gill received three honors as the MAAC Rookie of the Year also earned a spot on the All-MAAC Second Team as well as the All-MAAC Rookie Team. Joining Gill on the All-MAAC Rookie Team was defender Sarahkate Norton and midfielder Jess Gargan as the Bobcats tied for the league-lead with three All-Rookie selections. Most recently, Gill earned a spot on the 2016 All-MAAC Preseason Team as voted upon by the league's head coaches.