The women's soccer team scored early but fell to Bowdoin in a double overtime heartbreaker

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Wesleyan women’s soccer arrived at Jackson Field on Saturday afternoon to open up conference play and attempt to sweep Bowdoin soccer squads on the day. In the second act of the day’s soccer action, the Cardinals jumped to an early advantage against their Polar Bear counterparts but struggled to maintain their lead, eventually falling 2-1 in double overtime. The loss is the Cardinals’ second in the opening two matches of their 2014 campaign.

The Redbirds wasted little time to open the scoring, netting a goal within the first five minutes of the game. The Cardinals first goal of the season came when Captain Katy Hardt ’15 delivered a searching ball from the far touchline to the top of the Bowdoin 18-yard box where midfielder Madeline Keane ’16 was positioned perfectly to deliver a deft touch into a dangerous position. Defender Marisa Yang ’16 ran onto Keane’s pass at the goal line and delivered a bolt of a shot to the keeper’s left to put the Cardinals ahead. Keane and Hardt were both credited with assists for their efforts.

Following the strike that put them ahead, the Birds would be on the defensive for the better part of the match. Dealing with an unrelenting Bowdoin attack the Cardinals fell behind in the shots column 26-8. Although the Cardinals survived the first hour of the match unscathed, the Polar Bears crawled back into the matchup with a 16-yard blast that proved to be too much for keeper Jess Tollman ’15 in the 66th minute of play.

Deadlocked at the end of regulation, the Cardinals conceded the game-winning goal to Bowdoin in the 105th minute of play a header to the left side of the net off of a corner kick. On a day where blistering heat and humidity beat down on both teams for 105 minutes of play, victory was just not in the cards for Wesleyan team who suffered a similar scoreline in its last matchup with Bowdoin in 2013.

“The weather was unbearably hot for both teams and tempo slightly lower than would be expected of a NESCAC game,” Coach Eva Meredith wrote in an email to The Argus. “This game and last year’s game [were] very similar in nature. We go up a goal and then they came back and scored two to win the game. They returned most of their starters from a very successful 2013 campaign and play with lots of confidence. We struggled to keep up with their speed at times. “

This time around, defeat was just as stinging for a Cardinals team that fought endlessly to preserve its first lead of the year and came up short.

“We went into overtime this year,” Hardt wrote in an email to The Argus. “And sometimes with overtime in soccer, unfortunate things just happen. Both teams had chances, and they finished a crucial opportunity in the box in overtime whereas we did not. In soccer, the whole game just sometimes comes down to that one little moment, and they finished a great play to win the game, even though we put out a great effort for 90 plus minutes. It hurts. A lot. But we did a lot of great things in this game. We controlled the game for periods of time, had a number of good scoring chances, and kept our team spirits up despite the really hot conditions. Like I said, soccer just works like that sometimes, especially in overtime. I think we definitely could have come out with a win. But Bowdoin put up a good fight. They are a very respectable opponent.”

Key to the Cardinals’ competitive bout against an experienced Bowdoin squad was the stellar play of goalkeeper Tollman. A stalwart veteran between the posts, Tollman notched 12 saves in her efforts to keep the Cardinals’ hopes of getting a positive result out of their home opener. However, Tollman’s brave efforts alone were not enough to deny Bowdoin from snatching three points in their first NESCAC contest of the campaign.

“[Bowdoin] had many good goal scoring opportunities turned away by stellar play from our goalie Jessica Tollman,” Meredith said. “We also had a few quality chances but they had more and deserved the win in the end.”

For Meredith, the Cardinals will be able to right the ship on their young season if the team is able to stay alert for the full 90.

“It comes down to not only the team that plays the best but the team that makes the [fewest] mistakes,” Coach Meredith added. “We need to focus on not making costly mistakes at crucial times in the game.”

Despite the score line, there are still plenty of positives to draw out of a game where the Cardinals were able to grab a goal in the first ten minutes. Hardt takes the result as a crucial lesson for the team to learn in the early goings of the 2014 campaign.

“It means that we know where we are fitness wise and we know how good a top team in our conference is,” Hardt wrote. “We need to continue to focus on us and to get better every practice and learn from every game.”

If anything, this Saturday’s home opener is an indication of the team’s commitment to a gritty, defensive, and hardworking style of play.

“As our coach says to us, ‘we respect all of our opponents, but we fear none,’” Hardt said.

The Cards resume action this Wednesday, Sept. 10 at home against Vassar College.