Kathy Lee/Photo Editor
The women’s soccer team won its first game of the season on Tuesday, Oct. 1 at home against Elms College in a 4-1 blowout. Victoria Matthews ’16 scored two goals and assisted on another, while Hannah Stone ’15 and Maddy Chabot ’15 each added goals of their own. It was the first time any of the three players had scored this year.
The win marked the first of the season for the Cardinals, who at the halfway point stand 1-3-3 on the year. The game was also the first time this season that Wesleyan had scored more than one goal in a match, which was an encouraging sight for players and fans alike.
Kathy Lee/Photo Editor
“There are definitely things that we need to work on,” said goalkeeper Rachel Hobert ’16. “But we were very happy with the win. The first win definitely feels nice to get out of the way.”
The Cardinals dominated the Blazers in all aspects of the game from the get-go, and Wes ended up outshooting Elms 24-5. The first goal came in the 32nd minute from Stone, who received a cross from Matthews very close to the net and put it away from just a few yards out. Matthews was credited with her first assist of the year on the goal, along with Hannah Jellinek ’15, who was awarded her first helper of the season as well.
The game remained 1-0 until the second half, when in the 59th minute, Chrissy Gonzalez-Gandolfi ’17 sent an accurate cross from the right side into the box. Gonzalez-Gandolfi’s cross bent around defenders to lead Matthews into open space for her first goal of the year. The assist was Gonzalez-Gandolfi’s first of her collegiate career. It only took another two minutes before the rout was on at Jackson Field, when Matthews put home another goal, this one from about 20 yards out off a long assist from Kaylie Williams ’16.
Kathy Lee/Photo Editor
Elms was able to score its first and only goal of the day in the 73rd minute of the game when Ally Witaszek netted an impressive free kick from about thirty yards out. However, the goal proved futile for Elms as Wesleyan responded in the 84th minute with its fourth and final goal of the day. Stone sent a long pass up the field to Chabot, who was able to turn on a defender and rip a shot across her body into the top left corner of the net. The goal marked Stone’s first assist on the year.
The Wesleyan defense continued its strong start to the year, as Jessica Tollman ’15 recorded two saves while Grace Bomann ’14 completed the end of the game in the net. The defense has only allowed nine goals through seven games this year, with four of those coming in a game against Salve Regina when the Cardinals, due to injuries, had no active goalies on the roster.
Prior to Tuesday’s game, the Cardinal offense had stayed quiet for most of the year, scoring only twice through the first six games. However, Wes was still able to rack up points in the NESCAC standings with three ties, keeping them in ninth place out of eleven. Hobert believed that part of Tuesday’s success could be contributed to a change in the team’s formation.
“Changing [the formation] really allowed us to swing the ball more defensively,” Hobert said. “The change also helped us use the outsides more to play through balls into the middle. It just creates a lot more space, which was something we were able to do well against Elms.”
Hobert also said that the key to replicating Tuesday’s performance in the next game on the offensive end would be teamwork.
“It doesn’t matter who it is [that scores],” Hobert said. “As long as it’s in the back of the net, then it works. I just hope that as a unit we can start to score more consistently because you don’t score goals as an individual—you score as a team.”
The team matches up next against Colby College at home on Saturday, Oct. 5. The Mules, currently last in the NESCAC with a 0-4-0 record in conference play, took a 2-0 game from Wesleyan last year at Colby in a cold and physical matchup. The Cardinals are looking to build off of Tuesday’s success and come away with a win this time around.