The first varsity match of the season occurred today, as Quinnipiac University traveled to Euclid, Ohio, to face Notre Dame College, which is celebrating its first DI season. After a long stalemate, the Bobcats pulled ahead 41-10 for the victory.

The match looked like a season-opener – lots of new faces, positional experiments, plenty of rust – and afforded a first look into both teams’ rosters. The hosts were defined by big, barreling forwards, but were missing major try-scorer Hannah Gauthreaux (who transferred to Lindenwood), Karmin Macedo, and Lea Walsh.

“Notre Dame made some hard drives up the middle and had us on size, no question,” Quinnipiac coach Becky Carlson said. “They came out with a lot of energy ... and realized that their pick-and-goes were working; they were explosive in small spaces. Moving up to DI and playing more varsity teams is going to be a big plus for their program.”

Quinnipiac amped up its defensive pressure against Notre Dame’s backline, and then leaned on its fitness to pull away. The scoring spree that ensued highlighted an exciting center pairing: Sophomore Ilona Maher, who transferred from Norwich University, and freshman Emily Roskopf, a Pleasanton Cavalier and High School All American, each scored three tries.

“They had vets on their inside and outside – Maggie Myles at flyhalf, Christie Albers and Rebecca Haight on the wing – and it was exciting to watch them mesh together and find their rhythm,” Carlson said.

“Ilona used to be a forward, so she’s finding her spacing and gaps,” Carlson added. “They did a tremendous job for us; they’re one of those combos that we’re really confident in.”

It was quite the move for Maher, who propped for the Cadets, but the Vermont native took advantage of the collaborative-coaching methods employed on the Bobcat squad and requested a run in the backline. After a positive experience during training, the rest of the team encouraged the move, and today's game served as the perfect place to see the prop with more ball in hand.

Carlson indicated that Maher may very well stay in the forwards, No. 8 perhaps, to bulk up a typically smaller pack. But if she does stay in the backline, then she’ll help salve the loss of senior Natalie Kosko, who accepted a 7s contract to the Olympic Training Center, but then tore her ACL.

There are other interesting things happening in Hamden, Conn. For the previous three years, Carlson has been administering the DISC (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Compliance) personality test to her players, so she can better understand the temperament of the team, especially in relation to stressful situations. The coach explained that while personalities cannot be altered, behaviors can be adapted, and certain strategies may be formed to better manage game-time stress.

“We have a high amount of ‘I’s’ on the team,” Carlson said of the Influence-trending squad, “which means we have a lot of vocal players. So when the stress level rises, those players talk too much, and they need to make adjustments and communicate more concisely, while those who are more reserved in terms of communicating with the team have to come out of their shells.

“That’s something we actively worked on – communicating effectively – and that was the best thing I saw today,” Carlson said.

Haight scored the other Quinnipiac try, while junior prop Madison Gegeckas added six points on three conversions.

Quinnipiac take Labor Day Weekend off and returns to action on Sept. 12 against Army. Notre Dame College will take on rival Davenport University this Saturday.