c/o Wesleyan Athletics
In Play(er) of the Week, our goal is to highlight Wesleyan athletes or segments of games that deserve extra attention. This week, we will be highlighting a recent moment from the women’s soccer team’s matchup against Bowdoin in the NESCAC Quarterfinals on Saturday, Oct. 29.
When the two teams last met, only a week prior on Saturday, Oct. 22, the Cardinals snatched a 1–0 victory over the then No. 25 nationally ranked Polar Bears. The sole goal of the day came from Grace Devanny ’23 just 17 minutes into the game off of Andi Wiley’s ’22 MA ’23 corner kick.
Needless to say, the meeting in the quarterfinals promised to be a hard-fought rematch between two teams both ready to prove themselves, with Bowdoin seeded at #3 and Wesleyan seeded at #6.
The teams came out strong on offense with the Cardinals producing eight shots and the Polar Bears ten in regulation time alone, but by the end of the second half, not a single attempt from either team had managed to find the back of the net.
The Red and Black entered overtime with a heightened sense of urgency, outshooting Bowdoin ten to four in both overtimes. But once again, neither team managed to make it on the scoreboard during either period, sending the game into a penalty shootout.
The Cardinals stepped up first with an attempt by Wiley which she sent low to the right to beat Bowdoin goalie Charlotte Iannone. Next, Caty Clements ’25 came in with another successful attempt, followed by Katie O’Connell ’25, whose shot also hit its mark.
By the end of the third round, the score was tied 3–3 with every attempt from both teams being made. Kate Hausladen ’23 then made her shot and it was once again Bowdoin’s turn. Emilia Tutun stepped up to face goalkeeper Molly Brumbach ’26 but was unable to find the back of the net as Brumbach dove right to successfully block the shot and bring the score to 4–3 with only one attempt left for each team.
With the pressure mounting, Isabelle Martin ’23 stepped up to the challenge and sent her shot low to the left to beat Iannone and bring the shootout score to 5–4, netting a thrilling victory for the Cardinals and advancing them to the NESCAC Semifinals round. This marks the second straight season that Wesleyan defeated Bowdoin in the NESCAC Quarterfinals and also the fourth time in program history that the team will complete the NESCAC Semifinals.
Next week, the Cards will meet the #5 seeded Trinity on Saturday, Nov. 5 at Amherst (who is the top seed) in their first ever meeting in the NESCAC tournament. At their last matchup, the Bantams walked away with a narrow 1–0 victory on Saturday, Sept. 24. However, with the Cardinals outshooting Trinity 20–4 that day, there is no doubt that the Red and Black are going to come back strong and ready for revenge.
If you would like to nominate a Play(er) of the Week, please reach out to cbonnevie@wesleyan.edu, ebyerly@wesleyan.edu, or eseaver@wesleyan.edu with either the athlete’s name and one sentence about why they deserve to be nominated, or the team, date of the game, and players involved, and the segment that you would like to highlight.
Erin Byerly can be reached at ebyerly@wesleyan.edu.