The Wesleyan field hockey team was assigned the seventh seed in the NESCAC tournament after an 8-7 season that included a 4-6 conference record. For its efforts, the team earned its second trip in a week to visit Little Three rival Amherst, who has had an outstanding season, posting a 13-2 record (8-2 NESCAC). In Wesleyan’s penultimate regular-season game on Saturday, Oct. 22, the Lord Jeffs had defeated the Cardinals with a score of 2-0, but Wes hoped to avenge its defeat in the quarterfinal matchup a week later, on Oct. 29.
Unfortunately, Wesleyan instead witnessed the Lord Jeffs jump out to another early lead, earning a 3-0 score just after halftime. The game was not over, however, as Taryn Murray ’13 notched the Cardinals’ first goal against Amherst this season in the 45th minute. This was the beginning of an admirable charge by Wesleyan, as the Cards held the Lord Jeffs without a shot over the last 29 minutes and finished the second half with a 10-1 shot advantage and an 8-1 margin in corners. Unfortunately it was not to be, as the Amherst goalkeeper kept her team in the game, by making five second-half saves to secure the victory for the Lord Jeffs and ending the Cardinals’ season.
The Cardinals are losing four seniors next year, including co-captains Liz Chabot and Morgan McCauley, defender Ali Singer, and backup goalkeeper Sarah Beattie. These seniors were crucial cogs in the team’s machine this year, as McCauley and Chabot finished first and second on the team in points, with 25 and 24 respectively. Murray was the next player on the list, with 14 points, and coach Patti Klecha-Porter will likely look for her to take on the role of senior leader next fall.