The women’s hockey team split two matches against NESCAC foe Connecticut College this past weekend. The split series comes off the heels of a rough stretch of play, through which the Cardinals skated their way to a 2-5-3 NESCAC record. That record puts Wesleyan in a tie for the final playoff seed in the conference with a month of hockey left to play.
The Cardinals first met with the Camels on Friday, Jan. 24. The game opened as a defensive deadlock with no scoring by either side through the entire first period. That finally changed with 8:50 into the second, when Laura Mead ’16 snuck a shot past the Conn College goalie. Ellery Sarosi ’17 also scored in the second period, during which the Cardinals dominated the shot differential 14-1.
Captain Sydney Morgan ’14 added an empty-net goal in the game’s closing minutes to secure a final score of 3-0. Laura Corcoran ’16 had a good day in goal for the Cardinals, saving all 15 shots that came her way and recording her second shutout of the season.
“We are very happy being able to secure a win against Conn, especially since we have not beaten them in the past four years,” Morgan wrote in an email to The Argus. “On Friday we came out with energy, intensity, and physical and mental toughness.”
The victory gave the Cardinals a lot to feel good about, but they had little time to bask in the glow of their victory. The two teams faced off again on the very next day, Saturday, Jan. 25.
The Camels came out with a vengeance, scoring their first goal just a few minutes into the first period. After that, the Conn College attack was too much for the Cardinals to keep up with. Corcoran wasn’t quite as perfect as she had been on Friday, coming up with 25 saves to 3 goals allowed. Wesleyan’s offense also failed to replicate its production from the first game of the weekend, with Sarosi being the lone goal-scorer. Conn. College took the win, 3-1.
“It is fair to say we are upset with our performance on Sunday,” Morgan wrote. “Conn, like us, is a very hardworking and gritty team. On Saturday, they outworked us.”
While a 2-5-3 record may seem like nothing to write home about, it marks an improvement for the Wesleyan women’s hockey program. In fact, prior to the loss on Sunday, the Cardinals were on their best nine-game stretch of play in the last 10 years. It should also be noted that Wesleyan has already faced the conference’s top four teams, leading many of the team’s players to believe they can take advantage of their easier schedule moving forward.
“I think our team overall is fairly pleased with how our season has gone thus far,” Morgan wrote. “We are very optimistic about the rest of our season. Though each game from here on out will be very tough and hard-fought, which is characteristic of the NESCAC, we have proven we can skate with and even beat some of our toughest opponents. Having failed to make the playoffs in more than ten years, we are on our way to finally securing ourselves a spot in postseason play.”
The Cardinals will conclude non-conference play for the season with a game against Nichols College on Wednesday, Jan. 29. They resume NESCAC play on Friday, Feb. 7 against Hamilton.