Dan Goldman/Staff Photographer

This past weekend, the women’s field hockey team had home-field advantage against NESCAC opponents Tufts on Saturday, Sept. 15 and Hamilton on Sunday, Sept. 16. While a promising Wesleyan effort was thwarted in a narrow loss to the Jumbos, the Cardinals found their first victory on the season in dominant fashion versus the Continentals.

In the first game of the weekend, Tufts scored after a scramble in front of goalie Tori Redding ’13 that resulted in a goal with 4:28 remaining in the first half. That was all it took to carry the Jumbos to a 1-0 win.

Despite their loss, the Cardinals outshot the Jumbos 10-7. The offense moved the ball well, and several strong shot chances came from the stick of Taryn Murray ’13. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Jumbo goaltender was on top of her game and was able to obtain a shutout in her first career start, despite the offensive pressure from the Cardinals.

Redding was able to stop a potential breakaway midway through the second half to keep the game at 1-0, but the Cards were unable to get past the Jumbo’s goaltending. Tufts also had the advantage in penalty corners, as the Jumbos tallied eight while the Cardinals only took two.

After the close loss to Tufts, the Cardinals had little time to rest before stepping onto the field the next day to face the Continentals of Hamilton College. However tired the Cardinals may have been, they showed no signs of fatigue and dominated the entire game.

Murray scored an unassisted goal just 8:12 into the contest to begin the Cardinal onslaught. Later in the first half, Averill Roberto ’13 scored with Mackey Hemphill ’15 earning the assist.

Ashley McLaren ’13 dominated the offensive by leading the team with 10 shots in the contest and scoring two goals. Blair Ingraham ’14 was second-best with a total of five shots on goal. Overall, the Cardinals outshot the Continentals 26-2. Penalty corners were also in the Cards’ favor 15-1. After this weekend, McLaren and Murray are now tied for first on the team in scoring, with three goals a piece.

Another achievement from the contest was goaltender Redding earning her first shutout of the 2012 season. She tallied two saves on the game.

With Sunday’s victory, the Cardinals’ record improved to 1-3 overall with a 1-2 NESCAC record. They return to action Saturday, Sept. 22 on the road against NESCAC rival Williams.