Coming off of their spectacular, record-setting 2021 season, where they won 18 games and advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament, the Wesleyan women’s soccer team came into this year with high expectations. 

Beginning the season with a solid 2–0 victory over Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), with goals from captain Grace Devanny ’23 and Catherine Gallagher ’26, in her collegiate debut, the Cardinals followed up with a shutout 3–0 win over Colby to start their NESCAC season in top form. 

Wesleyan took control from the Mules at the get-go, taking the lead through a corner kick by captain Audrey Lavey ’23, which went straight in amongst heavy traffic on the goal line. The lead was doubled by Dani Milovanov ’23, who was able to shift the ball off of a Colby defender before firing a shot into the bottom left corner of the goal. The win was settled in the 71st minute by Devanny, who received a through ball from Stefanie Stoj ’26, beat a defender, and slotted home.

Unfortunately, the Cards were unable to continue this solid start to the season, falling 2–0 to NESCAC opponents Tufts. A competitive first half remained scoreless despite chances for both sides. Devanny met a Lavey cross, but fired just wide from inside the box. At the other end, captain Sarah Hammond ’22 MA ’23 saved Jumbo forward Casey Lam’s shot from point-blank range. However, the tide turned against the Cards. With two second-half tap-in headers within 15-minutes, Tufts pulled ahead. Despite the Red and Black attempting a late charge for a comeback, after which the Cards edged out Tufts 8–5 for shots on goal, Wesleyan suffered their first defeat of the season.

Wesleyan’s unfortunate streak continued as they fell in their next game, a tough 3–2 loss to Division I opponents Hartford University. Despite the best efforts of goalkeeper Molly Brumbach ’26, who made five saves in her debut game, she was unable to prevent Imani Jenkins from following in on a rebounded shot and scoring the game-winner in the 84th minute. This was followed by a frustrating 0–0 tie with Vassar, with the Cards unable to snag the win despite leading 9–4 in shots.

But even when faced with mixed results, the Cardinals were undeterred by the adversity and approached the next week’s double header with a newfound sense of team spirit.

“We were definitely struggling in the beginning of the season with comparing ourselves to last year,” Lavey said. “We got together as a team, and everyone aired out their frustrations and concerns, and we decided to come up with solutions. We signed a contract committing to giving 100% and controlling what we can control. We can’t control how [other teams] react to us, but we can control is how we play. We all went into [the double header] with a new mindset, and we were all really fired up.”

First, they faced off against Trinity on Saturday, Sept. 24th. The Cards dominated in both shots on goal (9–2) and total shots (20–4), but ultimately weren’t able to find the back of the net. The Bantams scored the sole goal of the game at the end of the first half, yielding a final score of 0–1. 

Thankfully, the Cardinals bounced back from the loss the next day to take on Hamilton. After a scoreless first half aided by Hammond’s excellent performance in goal, the second half saw an increase in intensity on both sides. The Continentals were the first to land on the scoreboard, just three minutes into the second half, but the Cards proved that they weren’t ready to give up the fight, producing five shots and a corner in seven minutes. Finally, in the 61st minute, Kate Hausladen ’23 caught the rebound off a Devanny shot that hit the crossbar to tie up the game and bring the final score to 1–1.

Although it was not a winning weekend overall, the Cards still consider the double header as the true turning point of the season.

“We didn’t get the results we wanted, but our play was infinitely better,” said Andrea Chiappetti ’24.

On Saturday, Oct. 23, the Cardinals met No. 23 nationally-ranked Middlebury for a fierce battle. Fueled by their desire to avenge their loss to the Panthers in last year’s NESCAC Championship, the Cards came out strong. In the 19th minute of play, the Red and Black managed the sole goal of the game from Hausladen off a Devanny cross. The Panthers tried hard for an equalizer, but they were unable to overcome Wesleyan’s defense, resulting in a 1–0 victory for the Red and Black.

Katie O’Connell ’25 described the victory as a huge boost to the team’s spirits.

“Last year, they beat us in the NESCAC Finals,” O’Connell said. “I think we wanted revenge. Deep down, we all knew we needed that win for team morale, especially.”

Chiappetti also cited the game as a high point for the team this year.

“That win was a pivotal point, because being able to show to ourselves that we’re good enough to beat any team in this league was really the kicker for us,” Chiappetti said.

The Cards kept up this momentum with a definitive, non-conference victory over Roger Williams University on Tuesday, Oct. 4th. The first goal came just four minutes into the game with a shot by Lavey, which was followed up a mere six minutes later with another goal by Lily Jebejian ’26, putting the score at 2–0 by the end of the first half. The second half saw continued excellence from the Cardinals’ offense and defense, with two more goals added by Milovanov and Lavey and not a single shot by the Hawks finding the back of the net, bringing the final score of the game to 4–0. 

Wesleyan then faced off against No. 22 nationally-ranked Amherst on Oct. 8th, the first day of their second double header of the season. The Mammoths started strong and netted their first goal 15 minutes into the game, resulting in the Cards trailing 0–1 by the end of the first period. Amherst got their second goal of the game six minutes into the second half, and then added another nine minutes later, ensuring their 0–3 victory. 

But the Cardinals were resolved to not let the Amherst loss be a setback, and approached the next day’s match against Bates with renewed determination.

“We didn’t have the 72 hours between games that we usually have to think about what we did wrong,” Lavey said. “The biggest message we sent to the team on Saturday night was, ‘today is over and tomorrow’s a new day. Tomorrow, we go out and beat Bates.’ Being able to put that behind us and not have to think so hard about it for so long helped with that shift.”

The Cards hit the ground running with a goal 11 minutes into the game from a free kick by Milovanov. They followed this with another goal near the end of the first half with a header from Devanny assisted by Andi Wiley ’22 MA ’23 and Chiappetti. In total, the first half yielded ten shots for the Cardinals, while the Bobcats managed not a single one. Both teams had a number of goal attempts to start off the second half, but neither found the back of the net until Chiappetti’s shot off a Devanny pass in the 67th minute secured a decisive 3–0 Cardinal win. 

Looking forward, the Cardinals have a number of exciting matchups to round out their regular season, including their Senior Day game against Williams at Jackson Field on Saturday, Oct. 15th, followed by matchups against Bowdoin and Conn. College in subsequent weeks. But for now, the team is aimed at focusing on what’s right in front of them.

“We need to take it one step at a time,” O’Connell said. “[The] first step is hopefully to win now, and then from there, just keep winning.”

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

Ishaan Nair can be reached at inair@wesleyan.edu.