Madeline Keane ’16 got the women’s soccer team off to an early lead against Bowdoin College this past Saturday in the season opener, but the Cardinals couldn’t hold on as the Polar Bears ended up on top, 2-1. Rachel Hobert ’16 was impressive in the net, stopping nine shots on goal from the Bowdoin squad, but the hosts’ unrelenting offense found a way to break through.

“I think we played a really good 30 minutes in the first half,” said Head Coach Eva Meredith. After playing through a deadlock for the first 17 minutes of the game, captain Hannah Knudsen ’14 received a cross in the box and headed the ball towards the center, where Keane fired a shot into the lower left corner of the goal, putting the Cards out in front.

“Keane has a fantastic shot—her shot’s just solid. As a goalkeeper, I fear them,” Hobert said. “She was able to put it on frame, which was key, and she wasn’t afraid to take it. She executed it well.”

Just as it looked like the picture-perfect first half for the Cardinals was coming to a close, Bowdoin shifted the direction of the game by scoring with just 30 seconds remaining in the half.

“That was just game-changing,” Hobert said. “It completely turned the momentum around.”

After weathering nine shots in the first 45 minutes, Wes let past the 10th. That turned a lead on the road into a 1-1 tie at the break, which altered the complexion of the match going forward.

“The first half, I thought, was a pretty good half,” said Meredith. “But mentally that goal—and why that is I’m not sure—it changed the landscape for the second half.”

Despite two corner kicks and one shot on goal in the second half, the Cardinals couldn’t push any more goals across for the remainder of the game. Bowdoin, meanwhile, was able to keep going at the Wesleyan defense with nine shots in the second half, including five on goal. In the 66th minute, Bowdoin forward Kiersten Turner put home the team’s second goal of the day, which proved to be the game-winner.

“We needed to close them down more in the box, and that was the problem with their second goal,” said Hobert, who made four saves in the second half. “We just gave [Turner] too much space at the top of the box.”

Hobert’s nine saves in the game were the most in any of her Wesleyan career performances so far. But even after such an outing, Hobert thought that she could have done more.

“I should have come out a lot more and attacked the ball more,” she said. “I shouldn’t have played it as safe, and I could have played it stronger. The saves that I did have I did come out strong, and I knew that my team needed me and that this was my part of the job.”

“It was disappointing, but as the first game, it was a good point to evaluate where we were at and what we needed to work on,” Hobert added. “We were a little nervous, and we had been waiting for that day for almost a year.”

Even so, Meredith saw plenty to be proud of on the pitch Saturday, making sure to laud her player’s performances despite her team’s shortcomings.

“She did great,” she said of Hobert’s performance. “She should not have to make nine saves because we shouldn’t let them shoot that much. Granted, many of the shots were from far out. She handled eleven shots which is too many, so our defense needs to tighten up.”

The Cardinals’ next game is Saturday, Sept. 14 at home against Babson College, which looks to be a tough opponent after getting off to a 4-0 start this year. Both Hobert and Meredith believed that it was best to try to learn from the first game at Bowdoin, and that the team could use the week of practice to recollect themselves.

“We have the attitude that we get better every practice and we learn from every game,” Meredith said. “We have learned some things from that game [against Bowdoin] that we will not repeat in the game on Saturday.”

Hobart was similarly forward-thinking.

“We just have to go into the next game with a strong mindset, confident in our abilities, but yet be prepared for a battle,” Hobert said. “That’s how we should go into every game.”