Wesleyan field hockey withstood mounting pressure from defending national champion Bowdoin on Saturday, only to see the Polar Bears escape with a 1-0 victory after netting a goal with two minutes remaining in the contest.  Bowdoin entered the game as the preseason top-ranked Division III field hockey team, but a strong defensive effort by the Cardinals kept the Polar Bears at zero until late in the second half.

The first half saw Bowdoin control the run of play, but Wesleyan came out at the start of the second half battling to be the first team on the scoreboard.  The Cardinals’ best opportunity came seven minutes into the half on a breakaway by Liz Chabot ‘12, but she was brought down by the goalkeeper just before she could get a shot on goal.

The Wesleyan defense was on display against Bowdoin as the home team was outshot 11-3 during the contest, with the only shots on goal coming from Ashley McLaren ‘13 and Blair Ingraham ’14.  Despite ceding 12 penalty corners to the visitors, the Cardinals limited the opposition to only four shots off those penalty corners.

Goalkeeper Tori Redding ’13 withstood a barrage of shots in the final minutes of the game, coming off the goal line to make a kick save with 13 minutes remaining.  A Wesleyan player substitution five minutes later would find the Cardinals defense out of position as Bowdoin mounted an attack that would end with another strong save by Redding, who tallied six saves in the game.

While the crowd of supporters at Smith Field looked ready to endure another Wesleyan season opener heading to overtime, following the overtime thriller by the Wesleyan women’s soccer team earlier in the day, the Polar Bears had other plans.  With two minutes remaining in the game, Bowdoin Senior Co-captain Katie Herter secured the ball on a run up the left side of the field, sending forward a high pass that would be tipped by junior attacker Cathleen Smith over the shoulder of the Wesleyan goalkeeper for a Bowdoin goal.

Wesleyan increased the pressure in the waning minutes of the match and fought to the final whistle, earning a penalty corner with just seconds remaining in the game.  With Cardinals fans hoping for an equalizer, the penalty corner yielded a shot by Morgan McCauley ’12 that rolled just wide of the goal on the final play of the contest.  The Bowdoin goal held up as the Polar Bears earned their first conference and season win.

Despite the final score, Wesleyan showed its potential to be among the top teams in the NESCAC come tournament time as the Cardinals kept the defending national champions off the scoreboard until the very end.

“This game solidified that we have the talent and that we are more than capable to come out of these games on top,” said co-captain McCauley after the game.

Wesleyan field hockey returns to action Wednesday night as the Cardinals host the Mount Holyoke Lyons (2-0) under the lights on Smith field.