Senior co-captain Liz Chabot scored six goals in two games last week as Wesleyan field hockey earned convincing wins over UMass Dartmouth and NESCAC foe Bates, improving to a 6-4 record on the season and 3-4 in NESCAC competition.

The Cardinals secured a victory on the road at UMass Dartmouth on Thursday night, outshooting the Corsairs 16-2 to emerge with a 5-0 win.  Wesleyan got out to a 3-0 lead during a 10 minute span of play in the first half as Chabot scored an unassisted goal to spark the Cardinal offense 17 minutes into the contest.  Senior co-captain Morgan McCauley then played a role in the next two goals, converting a pass from Amber Bruckner ’14 before assisting on a goal by midfielder Ashley McLaren ’13 off a penalty corner.

Chabot continued the scoring in the second half, notching her second of the game just three minutes after the whistle to give Wesleyan a 4-0 lead.  A goal by Jess Hanway ’15 in the 54th minute capped off the Cardinal scoring for the night, while an outstanding effort from the Wesleyan defense held UMass Dartmouth without a shot on goal, as Wesleyan earned its 4th shutout of the season with the 5-0 road victory.

The Cardinals made a statement to their NESCAC competition on Saturday as Chabot scored four goals in a 7-1 rout of Bates College.  Wesleyan controlled much of the possession in the first half of the contest, withstanding threatening runs by the Bobcats and establishing a four-goal lead by halftime.

The Cardinals got on the board quickly, scoring twice in the first five minutes of the contest.  Wesleyan continued the strong execution of penalty corners and second effort shots seen in recent games, converting on the set play to score the first goal.  McLaren corralled the ball at the top of the circle, sending a shot that was blocked by the Bates goalkeeper, but McCauley was there to send in the rebound and get her team-leading 8th goal of the season.  Chabot doubled the lead just minutes later, making a run from the midfield straight to the goal and slotting the ball past the goalkeeper for her first score of the game.

Wesleyan continued to pull away from the Bobcats as Chabot and McCauley each added to their tallies before halftime.  Chabot received a pass from McLaren, switching direction in front of the goal and finding the back of the cage for her second goal.  Not to be outdone, McCauley matched her fellow captain’s total in the first half just minutes later, securing the ball on the left flank and sending in a shot across the front of the goal that found the right side of the cage to give Wesleyan a 4-0 lead heading into halftime.

Bates came out fighting in the second half, getting on the board just two minutes in, when Lyndsay Beaton ’12 made a run down the left flank, getting by her defender and sending a shot across the goal to cut the Wesleyan lead to 4-1.  The Wesleyan defense stood strong against offensive runs by the Bobcats throughout the second half, and the Cardinal offense answered back just minutes later as Taryn Murray ’13 took possession on the right side, making an end line run towards the goal and sending in a shot past the Bates goalkeeper.  Chabot added two more goals in the second half, bringing her total to four on the day and ranking her second on the team in goals for the season.  Chabot sent in a shot from the left side for her third goal off a pass from McLaren, who had two assists that day.  Minutes later Chabot and McCauley executed perfect parallel runs to set up Wesleyan’s final goal, as McCauley intercepted a Bates pass near center midfield and ran towards the goal with Chabot along her left side.   With defenders converging on her McCauley dished the ball off to Chabot who one-touched it and sent a shot into the back of the cage to give Wesleyan a 7-1 lead that stood until the final whistle as Wesleyan goalkeeper Tori Redding ’13 recorded five saves in the contest.

Last week’s wins featured strong play from the Wesleyan defensive line and clinical finishing of goal-scoring opportunities during the run of play, as the Cardinals improved their record and look to qualify for the NESCAC tournament.  The team returns to action this Saturday with a non-conference game against Babson College at noon on Smith field.