After running its winning streak to five games with a pair of wins against Salve Regina University and Mount Holyoke College, the Cardinal field hockey team lost at Amherst 3-0 on Saturday to fall to 7-6 overall and 2-6 in NESCAC play. Wesleyan has one regular-season game remaining, at Connecticut College on Friday, and a win would give the Cardinals a spot in the NESCAC Tournament for the ninth time in its 10 years of existence.

On Saturday, the Lord Jeffs used a 29-9 edge in shots—including an 18-3 cushion in the second period—to take control of the game. Amherst jumped on the board with 9:10 left in the first half and extended its advantage to 2-0 off a corner after time expired for a 2-0 lead at halftime. Amherst made it 3-0 and concluded the scoring with 12:05 remaining in the game. Cardinal netminder Tori Redding ’13 tied her career high with 18 saves in the Wesleyan cage, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Amherst from winning its fourth straight against the Cardinals following a four-game Wesleyan winning streak. Since a 6-0 Wesleyan victory in Amherst in 2005, the Lord Jeffs have taken four straight against the Cardinals, the first two by 2-1 margins and the last two by 3-0.

Redding had backstopped the Cardinals to a pair of shutouts earlier in the week against Salve Regina and Mount Holyoke. The Cardinals traveled to Newport, R.I. to take on Salve Regina on Tuesday and came away with a 2-0 victory. The teams appeared headed to a scoreless tie at halftime, but Alex Bean ’11 put home a shot as time expired in the first half following a penalty corner by Averill Roberto ’13 to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. Bean scored again just 41 seconds into the second half on a backhander off the left post off a pass from Jamie Thabault ’11. Bean is currently tied for second on the team with four goals and one assist for nine points.

Despite a 20-6 edge in shots, the Cardinals settled for a 2-0 final as Salve Regina goalie Devin Eppley stopped 13 Cardinal scoring bids. Redding made five saves for her second shutout as Wesleyan remained undefeated all-time (3-0) against the Gulls.

Wesleyan then hosted Mount Holyoke on Smith Field under the lights on Thursday night and came away with a 3-0 victory. Following a scoreless first half, Ashley McLaren ’13 took a pass at the top of the scoring circle and fired it into the Mount Holyoke net 5:48 into the second half for her third goal. The Cardinals made it 2-0 three minutes later as Liz Chabot ’12 netted her fourth tally, giving Wesleyan all the offense it would need. Leading scorer Morgan McCauley ’12 scored her ninth goal of 2009 with just under 10 minutes remaining to provide the final margin of 3-0 off a shot from up close following a backhand pass by McLaren. Redding needed to make only two saves—both in the second half, as the Lyons did not get off a single shot in the first—for her second straight shutout. Redding and the Cardinals had also taken a shutout into the final minute of the previous Saturday’s 3-1 win over Bates before surrendering a goal with 32 seconds remaining.

The Cardinals will look to keep their momentum going at Conn. College on Friday. With a win, Wesleyan will finish seventh in the NESCAC standings and play at Tufts in the first round. A loss, however, and the Cardinals will have to hope for a Bates victory over Colby on Friday to clinch a postseason spot.