Hamden, Conn.-The Long Island University(w)’s soccer team dropped a Northeast Conference match at Quinnipiac, 3-0, on Friday afternoon at the Quinnipiac Soccer Field. The Blackbirds surrendered a pair of goals early in the first half and were unable to crack the Bobcats backline all afternoon as they slipped to 6-7-0 overall and 2-4-0 in conference play.

Quinnipiac (4-5-2, 3-1-1 NEC) struck early when Furtuna Velaj pressured the LIU defense in the fourth minute and sent a cross into the penalty area that bounced to Jillian Strassner who tapped the ball into the left corner for a 1-0 lead. Velaj and the Bobcats continued to apply the early pressure and tacked on another goal in the 11th minute. Velaj’s initial shot hit the cross bar before Kristina Del Mistro arrived to head in the rebound and make it 2-0 in favor of Quinnipiac.

Despite trailing at halftime, the Blackbirds managed to hold an 11-10 advantage in shots, but QU’s Elizabeth Cook turned away four shots and the defense blocked three others. Long Island tried to rally in the second half, but junior Kayleigh Morgan (Harlow, England) missed the target on a pair of shots as did senior Aly Hanson (New Milford, N.J.) and junior Caitlin Meadows (Brookdale, Calif.).

Freshman Jennifer Bannon (East Greenwich, R.I.) had four saves in the early stages to keep the Bobcats at bay, but Velaj managed to break through in the 70th minute with a shot from the right side that extended QU’s lead.

LIU had one last chance to get on the board in the closing seconds after junior Lara Martinez (West Chester, Ohio) got behind the Quinnipiac defense in front of goal, but narrowly missed with her shot sending it wide.

Senior Kim Bishop (Valley Stream, N.Y.) led the Blackbirds with six shots, while Bannon finished the day with 10 saves. Cook made five saves to collect the shutout for Quinnipiac.

The Blackbirds will face Central Connecticut State on Sunday, Oct. 18, in a 2:00 p.m. kickoff.