The women’s ice hockey team has started out the new year on a hot streak that has resulted with victories in four of their last six games. On Saturday the Cardinals came away with a 3-1 victory over Sacred Heart University.
The team got off to a rocky start with a 6-3 defeat at the hands of the Hamilton Continentals over break. But with the help of freshman goalie Meredith Katz, the team responded the next night with a shutout of the same Hamilton team, 2-0. It would be quite a while before another shot would get past Katz.
In the following game against Trinity, the Bantams were unable to put anything past the rookie net minder, as the Red and Black came away with a 3-0 victory. Katz remained humble about her accomplishments.
“The team played really well around me and overall, we’ve picked up our play over the recent weeks,” said Katz.
An impressive 3-1 victory over perennial conference contender Colby was a deeply satisfying accomplishment.
“It was the first time we beat Colby since I’ve been here,” said Captain Tasha Clauson ’04. “That was a really big win for us.”
The women showed their mettle once again this weekend by putting aside a disheartening loss to Bowdoin, currently ranked fifth in the country, and beating a competitive Sacred Heart squad.
Clauson played an important role as she anchored the Wes defense and aggressively challenged the Sacred Heart defensive zone. Late in the first period off a face-off, she took a pass from fellow defender Emily Titterton ’06 and fired a shot past the Sacred Heart goalie. The Cardinals were able to maintain that momentum throughout the second period and increased their lead with a goal from Anna Siliciano ’05, complements of an assisting Clauson. Barely over a minute later, Siliciano put the game away with her second goal; this time via passes from Megan Willey ’07 and Titterton.
It appeared as if Katz was on her way to a third shutout of the season. That notion was derailed by a late Sacred Heart’s breakaway goal. She was still able to finish the game with an impressive twenty-two saves.
With the league playoffs in sight, the Cardinals are battling for a spot in the top four of the conference, which would result in a home playoff game. Having a two game lead over their next closest rival would seemingly assure the Cardinals that all-important home match, but the players know that they cannot rest on their laurels.
“Coming up, we are playing some tough teams, like Amherst and Williams. We are over .500 in the conference now, which is a goal of ours, but to finish in the top three would be awesome,” Katz said.
With their winning record, the players are starting to envision greater accomplishments.
“To end over .500 is good, but what we really want is to do well in the playoffs,” Clauson said.
If the women maintain this run of good form, there should be nothing stopping them from reaching that goal. Next weekend they are off to play Holy Cross on Friday night, with a home game the following day against Hamline University.
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