On a 40-degree Saturday morning in Williamstown, Mass., Williams played host to the Wesleyan women’s soccer team in NESCAC semifinal play. While the Cardinals arguably entered the match with the hot hand, the higher-seeded Ephs prevailed in a 2-1 nailbiter to end Wesleyan’s season.

The teams were far from evenly matched on paper, with Williams seeded second and Wesleyan eighth. Moreover, the Ephs overpowered the Cardinals 3-1 in their prior meeting this season, on Sept. 22 at Williams. However, Wesleyan had reason to be confident: the Cards had not lost in two weeks, and a week earlier they had knocked out top-seeded Middlebury, dealing the Panthers their first loss of the season. Perhaps the reenergized Redbirds would have another upset performance in them.

Determined to follow up their roaring performance against Middlebury, the Cardinals started Saturday’s match emphatically. In the 19th minute, quad-captain Laura Kurash ’13 dispossessed the ball in the midfield and sent a cutting pass toward the right side, where it was received by a racing Kaylin Berger ’13. Berger took three quick touches before scoring her first goal of the season off of a right-footed shot from 18 yards out. Kurash picked up the assist, which would ultimately turn out to be the final point of her playing career. Kurash earned 37 goals and 14 assists for 88 total career points during her time as a Cardinal, giving her the second-most goals and points in Wesleyan history.

Good fortune began to slip away from the Cardinals in the 40th minute, when Williams scored an equalizing goal off of a direct free kick just to the right of an outstretched Jess Tollman ’15. From that point forward, the rest of the match was a close battle marked by aggressive challenges and missed opportunities. The two teams were near even in the shot column, with Williams barely edging out Wes 11-9. The deciding goal came with just 10 minutes left to play, when an Eph striker found a cross deep in the left box and fired past Tollman to put the game away.

Wesleyan went a disappointing 7-8-1 overall in the 2012 season. However, this final record obscures the grit that the Cardinals displayed. They were unfazed by the strength of their opponents and posed a serious challenge to some of their biggest rivals. Hopefully the determination of this squad will carry over into 2013, with a slew of young players taking things to the next level.