Howard, Cappello Score in 3-2 Loss at Villanova

Saturday, March 13

Conshohocken, Pa. / Villanova Field Hockey Field

12:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

(1-1, 1-1BIG EAST)

Villanova

(2-5, 2-5BIG EAST)

Quinnipiac

Villanova

Photo by: Liz Flynn, QBSN

3/13/2021 1:54:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

Field Hockey Comes Up Short in First Road Game Despite Late Push

By: QU Athletic Communications

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. – The Quinnipiac field hockey team came up short despite a late push Saturday afternoon as the Bobcats fell at Villanova, 3-2, for their first loss of the 2020-21 season.

Olivia Howard (Clifton Park, New York) and Julianna Cappello (Mohegan Lake, New York) were the goal scorers once again for the Bobcats while Nina Santore (Berlin, New Jersey) battled in the cage with a career-high seven saves.

Quinnipiac jumped out to a 1-0 lead just three minutes into the second quarter as Jess Halley (Glasgow, Scotland) inserted a penalty corner to Brooke Whipkey (Charlotte, North Carolina) and stick-stop and Howard blasted the ball that deflected off a Wildcat stick and into the cage.

The Bobcats took the 1-0 lead into halftime and weathered the offensive attack from the Wildcats before Villanova broke through and tied the game under four minutes into the third quarter as Meghan Mitchell scored on a breakaway for the Wildcats.

Less than a minute later, Sabine de Ruijter gave Villanova a 2-1 lead as the Wildcats converted on their 10^th penalty corner of the game. de Ruijter added an insurance goal to make it 3-1 with 6:34 remaining in the fourth quarter as she scored on another penalty corner for the Wildcats.

Villanova ended the game with a 13-3 advantage in penalty corners, and 10-3 edge in shots on goal.

Quinnipiac didn't go down without a fight as Cappello pulled the Bobcats within a goal in the final minute of the game. Rachel Papernik (Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey) had a great shot that was saved by a charging Jordan McGinley. Josie Sweeney (Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania) gathered the rebound and sent the ball on cage where Cappello tipped it home.

SCORE
Quinnipiac 2, Villanova 3

LOCATION
Villanova Field Hockey Field | Conshohocken, Pa.

RECORDS
Quinnipiac (1-1, 1-1 BIG EAST) | Villanova (2-5, 2-5 BIG EAST)

SCORING SUMMARY

18:00 (Quinnipiac 1, Villanova 0): The Bobcats got their first real chance on the offensive end with a penalty corner. Halley inserted the ball to Whipkey at the stick stop on top of the circle and Howard blasted a shot that deflected off a Wildcat stick and into the cage.
33:35 (Quinnipiac 1, Villanova 1): Meghan Mitchell tied the game for Villanova in the opening minutes of the second half as the Wildcats gained possession at the top of their own circle and Emily Clarke made a long stretch pass to lead Mitchell who beat Santore with the one-on-one breakaway.
34:16 (Quinnipiac 1, Villanova 2): The Wildcats took the lead less than a minute later on their 10^th penalty corner as Riley Dolan played the ball from the top of the circle to Sabine de Ruijter on her left and she struck the ball just inside the near post.
53:26 (Quinnipiac 1, Villanova 3): de Ruijter scored her second of the game on a penalty corner as Jamie Pennington inserted the ball the left of the goal and Katie Capalbo stopped it at the top of the circle in the stick-stop position. De Ruijter stepped into a shot and let it rip low through traffic and off the backboard for the goal.
59:07 (Quinnipiac 2, Villanova 3): Cappello pulled the Bobcats within a goal with about a minute remaining in the game as Sweeney collected the rebound from a Papernik shot that was saved and sent the ball toward the cage for Cappello to tip home.

NOTES

Howard scored her second goal in as many games to start the 2020-21 season.
She now has multiple goals in a season for the first time in her career, with both coming on penalty corners this season.
Cappello extended her goal streak to four games dating back to the penultimate game of the 2019 season against Brown on Oct. 27, 2019, with a goal in the final minute Saturday afternoon.
She has scored five goals in her last four games, including two to open the 2020-21 season.
Halley recorded an assist for her second straight game, giving her points in back-to-back games for the second time in her career
She has recorded two assists in each of her first three seasons as a Bobcat.
Whipkey picked up her first point of the season with an assist on Howard's goal
Whipkey's assist was her first since the 2019 season finale when she assisted Julianna Cappello's game-winning goal in double overtime.
Sweeney recorded her first career point with the assist on Cappello's goal
She has played both games this season after playing just seven as a first year in 2019.
Santore made her second straight start to open the season for the Bobcats, making a career-high seven saves in the cage
She now has 12 saves through her first two games

UP NEXT

Quinnipiac and Villanova will meet once again Sunday afternoon with another matchup in BIG EAST play beginning at 12 p.m. at the Villanova Field Hockey Field.
For more information on Quinnipiac field hockey, visit gobobcats.com/fh and follow the team on Twitter and Instagram, @QU_FH.