Coming off an important victory against Western Connecticut, the women’s lacrosse team looked to continue its winning ways when it took on the Bowdoin Polar Bears on Jackson Field last Saturday, April 13. The ninth-ranked Polar Bears entered the match with a 5-2 conference record while the Cardinals still remained in search of their first NESCAC win. Facing such a tough opponent, the Cardinals needed to be at their best in order to keep up with Bowdoin.
Three minutes into the game, Bowdoin beat freshman goalie Nina Labovich to take a quick lead, but Wesleyan was able to respond quickly. Running the ball up the field, Kaylin Berger ’13 found Catherine Taibi ’13 on the left side and quickly fed her the ball. Taibi then launched a powerful shot over the shoulder of the Bowdon goalie, tying the score at 1-1. With that assist, Berger became the 11th women’s lacrosse player in Wesleyan history to reach the 100-point plateau.
The Polar Bears seemed to take Taibi’s point as a challenge, scoring three more goals before the end of the first half. Wesleyan took eight more shots during this period, but none were able to beat the Bowdoin defenses.
At the opening of the second half, Bowdoin again took charge, scoring twice within the first two minutes. But at 20:51, Kayla Ellman ’13 responded for the Cardinals, scoring an unassisted goal and cutting the Wesleyan deficit to four goals. This marked Ellman’s 100th point of her college career, joining Berger as the 13th woman to reach that mark in University history. This honor is truly a testament to the hard work and dedication that both Ellman and Berger have put into their last four years in a Cardinal uniform. Ellman scored again four minutes later, bringing the score to 6-3 in favor of Bowdoin.
The Polar Bears then regained control, scoring two more goals within the next five minutes. The Cardinals won the draw control that took place after Bowdoin’s eight shot, and Berger charged up the field in possession of the ball. After being fouled, she was entitled to a free position shot, and launched one past the Bowdoin goalie, bringing the score to 8-4. Bowdoin unfortunately scored the final shot of the game, winning over the Cardinals by a margin of 9-4.
Despite the comfortable margin, the game was one that could have gone either way. Wesleyan took 19 shots on goal to Bowdoin’s 22 and had nine draw controls to the Polar Bear’s six. Eventually Bowdoin’s domination in turnovers—10 to Wesleyan’s 19—appeared to be the deciding factor in this otherwise quite even match.
Reflecting on the day, head coach Holly Wheeler said she is proud of her players and is looking forward to the upcoming matches.
“It was a great celebration of our seniors as they all had significant roles in the day,” she said. “The team worked really hard against one of the top teams in the country and we are looking forward to bringing that with us to the upcoming games—we plan on making those games our best ones.”
The Cardinals currently stand at 4-8, 0-7 in NESCAC competition. This Tuesday, April 16, Wesleyan will head to Hartford to face off against the undefeated Trinity Bantams, who are currently ranked number one in the nation.