The women’s soccer team had an incredible start to the season with a record-tying win streak of six games in a row and their best start since 1993, the year in which they also went 6–0.

Unfortunately, the team’s incredible winning streak came to an end in their matchup on Oct. 9th against No. 20 Amherst. It was a tight game throughout, remaining tied at 0–0 until ten minutes into the second half, when Amherst scored the lone goal of the game. The Cards fought back hard with 11 shots throughout the rest of the second half, but ultimately neither team found the back of the net, leaving the final score 1–0 in favor of Amherst. The win for the Mammoths also earned them the Little 3 title. 

Despite the scoreline, the Red and Black had a strong offensive effort as they outshot the Mammoths 18–8 with Audrey Lavey ’23 and Ally Stanton ’24 leading the way for the team with three shots apiece. In addition, they also had a huge advantage in corner kicks over Amherst (10–4), so it was unlucky that the Cards could not get on the scoreboard. In goal for Wesleyan, Sarah Hammond ’22 made three saves in the losing effort.

Rather than feeling disappointed by their loss, the Red and Black chose instead to see it as a learning experience to inform the rest of a season.

“Although we lost, and it was a tough loss, we played really good soccer, and we just didn’t get to finish our chances that we created, and we created a lot of chances,” Lavey said. “So I think that a couple of things that we can take away from it are that we hadn’t been in a position where we were down. So being down and keeping the pressure on was huge.”

Following the tight contest, the now-eighteenth-ranked Cardinals had a quick turnaround as they took on in-state and conference rival Trinity on Tuesday, Oct. 12 at home. The Red and Black were able to grind out a key 2–1 victory to push their record to 7–1 overall and 5–1 in NESCAC play. Against the Bantams, the Cards got off to a fast start as Grace Devanny ’23, celebrating her 21st birthday, scored two and a half minutes into the game to put the Red and Black up 1–0. In the 74th minute, the Bantams managed to come back and score their first goal, tying the game up 1–1.

As the minutes ticked by, Wesleyan didn’t back down. In the 83rd minute, Devanny scored her second goal of the game, bringing the score to 2–1 and clinching another victory for the Cards, officially making Devanny the team leader in goals, assists, points, and shots.

The Cardinals then survived a Trinity shot off the crossbar in the final minutes and were able to close out the much-needed victory. On the stat sheet, the shots were basically even, the teams slotting five shots on goal apiece. Wesleyan outshot Trinity overall 9–7. Devanny led the team with four shots on goal, and Hammond made four saves in the victory.

The comeback victory against Trinity demonstrated that a loss won’t keep the Cards down for long. 

“Our coaches told us to view the game against Trinity as an opportunity to respond to our previous loss,” Stanton said. “This motivated our team, and we scored an early goal and stayed composed late in the second half to pull out the win.” 

Captain Emily Ribatt ’21 MA ’22 said that the key to the victory over Trinity was teamwork combined with a high level of offensive play.

“Tuesday’s win was a mix of some really amazing shots and final third play as well as overall team combination,” Ribatt said. “We have so many strong ways to attack, and it was really exciting to get that 83rd-minute goal. It definitely was not the easiest of wins, but the fact that we could keep pushing and get the result shows confidence and real grit and that we can pull out the W in any situation.”

The Red and Black are confident that they will be able to keep this strong momentum they have going and continue to maintain a hopeful and ambitious outlook. Midfielder Melissa Wilhelm ’22 stressed the importance of playing with confidence and motivation as the team heads into the back half of the NESCAC schedule.

“I think in both the Amherst and Trinity games, we strung together some periods of really nice soccer, even though the score lines didn’t necessarily show that,” Wilhelm said. “We just have to remain confident and keep looking forward to the next game and use the past to motivate us.”

Next up, the Cards head up to Maine this weekend to take on Bates and Colby on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Despite the fact that these upcoming competitors are at the bottom of the standings this season, Wilhelm knows that the Cardinals cannot overlook any opponent, given how competitive the NESCAC is.

“We all know that no matter a team’s record, in the NESCAC, any team can win on any given day,” Wilhelm said. “If everyone gives their best effort for all 90 minutes, we should be successful.”

Erin Byerly can be reached at ebyerly@wesleyan.edu.

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu.