The women’s soccer team has advanced to the NESCAC semifinals following a dramatic 2–1 come-from-behind victory against Bowdoin at home on Saturday, Oct. 30. Before their quarterfinal victory, the Cardinals finished the regular season strong, going 5–0–1 in their final six games with wins over opponents that included NESCAC rivals Bates, Colby, and Hamilton. The Cardinals finished with an overall record of 13–1–1 (8–1–1 in conference). The team had a chance to finish with the top seed in the NESCAC, but due to their tie against Connecticut College in the last game of the season on Oct. 26, they had to settle for the second seed and face the seventh-seeded Polar Bears.
Against Bowdoin in rainy conditions, Wesleyan got off to a slow start and fell behind 1–0 just 20 minutes into the game, a score that would hold for the entire first half. This was only the third time this season the Cards trailed in a game, and the first time they trailed entering halftime.
In the second half, the Red and Black were finally able to get on the board as Grace Devanny ’23 scored off of a corner kick from Dani Milovanov ’23 with just over 25 minutes to go in the game. The Cardinals then took the lead nine minutes later when Emily Ribatt ’21 MA ’22 scored on a shot from outside the 18-yard box. Following the goal, the Red and Black weathered a Bowdoin comeback attempt and hung on to win 2–1, securing their first postseason win since 2012. On the stat sheet, the Cards outshot Bowdoin 18–8, and goalie Sarah Hammond ’22 only had to make one save in the victory.
c/o Steve McLaughlin Photography
Overall, captain Ribatt was happy with how the team has looked across this last stretch of games.
“I think the team continued to show our grit and fine tune our brand of soccer in the last regular season games and playoff win,” Ribatt wrote in a message to The Argus. “We worked to stick to our strengths and these games allowed us to continue to make minor adjustments and improvements as we head into the championship weekend.”
Ribatt pointed out that recent competitions have been helpful experiences for the team.
“I think both the Bowdoin and the Conn College games gave us new experiences to have to come back from being down, which we now have been able to do twice with a quick responding goal against conn and playing our first full overtime game and a complete comeback against Bowdoin after being down 1-0 at halftime,” Ribatt wrote. “I think that in this way it was great to have these two games that were different from previous game dynamics to continue to broaden our experience and confidence in our ability.”
Discussing the comeback against Bowdoin, midfielder Isabelle Martin ’23 highlighted that the team’s grit and confidence played a major role in the victory.
“I think the key for us coming back was that we knew we weren’t playing our game in the first half,” Martin said. “If we wanted to win we were going to have to show up and compete. As a collective group at halftime we had to refocus, decide that we were going to play our game, push the pace and believe that we could win.”
Devanny explained that the team’s rainy game against Connecticut College only days prior helped prepare them for another damp faceoff versus the Polar Bears.
“I think the fact that we played Conn in the rainy and wet conditions helped us prepare for Saturday,” Devanny wrote. “I think we were able to understand what plays and passes worked and which ones didn’t, which helped us be more successful in those conditions against Bowdoin.”
Next up, the Cardinals take on third-seeded Hamilton on Saturday, Nov. 6 at Amherst, for a bid to the NESCAC championship game. Devanny mentioned that the fact that they have already played the Continentals will help them in preparing for the game, but also stressed that anything can happen during postseason play.
“Because we have played Hamilton, we know a lot about their style of play and how we can be successful when playing against them,” Devanny said. “Although, I think we are all aware that during the playoffs, anything can happen and that we have to go into every game with a clean slate.”
Martin added that it will be important to come out strong and play a complete game as a team if the Cardinals want to come out on top this weekend.
“To win this weekend we need to have the same attitude and energy we brought to the second half of the quarterfinal game, from the start,” Martin said. “We have trained all season for this, and we need to believe that we can win every time we step on the field. We have to stay focused and be relentless all over the field.”
David Gottlieb can be reached dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu.
Correction: This article previously said that the semifinals were on Sunday, Nov. 7, instead of Saturday, Nov. 6. It has now been corrected.