When a team knows that a playoff spot has already been solidified, it is important to find goals to provide motivation. This was the position the women’s hockey team found itself in this weekend. Assured of entry into the NESCAC Tournament, wins against foes Bowdoin and/or Colby would allow for Wesleyan to host a first-round playoff game. Alas, the stars were not aligned correctly for the Cardinals as they were bested 5-0 by the Bowdoin Polar Bears and were held to a 2-2 tie by the lowly Colby Mules.
Early on against Bowdoin (18-4-1, 15-1-0 NESCAC), it was clear that Wes (9-14-1, 6-9-1 NESCAC) was in for a rough game. Unable to establish any kind of offense, it was up to the defense to keep the Cardinals in the game. It was a Herculean effort anchored by Assistant Captain Liz Courtney ’04 and her fellow defenders; yet, there was no counter for the constant barrage of shots by the Polar Bears. Eventually, Bowdoin was able to tally their first goal and it turned out that was all that they needed for victory. Courtney’s eighteen saves were not enough to overcome the onslaught of Bowdoin shots. But the Cardinals could hold their heads high as they left the ice knowing that they had just lost to one of the premiere teams in the country and by a respectable score.
“Losing to Bowdoin 5-0 is not that bad,” said captain Tasha Clauson ’04. “We played really well defensively and Liz made a bunch of big saves. One of their goals was a complete fluke, also. It bounced in off of someone’s skate.”
Saturday afternoon, Colby (4-18-1, 4-11-1 NESCAC) strolled into the Wesleyan Arena looking for a hockey game, but this match would prove to be a microcosm of the entire Cardinals’ season. With many emotional ups and downs, Wesleyan was able to overcome a deficit and take control of the game. Yet in the end, the problem that has frustrated the team the entire year came back to haunt them once again: the inability to score clutch goals at the end of a game.
It would not have even been a game if it were not for the skills of Anna Siliciano ’05 and Jenna Bonczewski ’06. Each player was credited with a goal and an assist, leading the offensive charge for the Cardinals. Siliciano, the team’s leading scorer, showed her mettle once again by netting the tying goal on a power play six minutes into the final period. After that goal, the balance of power in the game switched from a fairly even game to one dominated by Wes. In overtime, the Cardinals relinquished that control momentarily as they were forced to endure a five-on-three power play. Stopping Colby from scoring was vital for any hopes of a Wesleyan victory.
“Killing off those penalties was incredibly important,” Clauson said. “After we were even strength, we just couldn’t find a way to score.”
As the final horn sounded and the seniors skated off the ice for the final time, it was a bittersweet moment. The team was in the playoffs, however they had missed an opportunity to take the Wesleyan Arena ice once more.
“It was pretty sad and depressing, considering it was my last home game,” Clauson said. “So it would have been nice if we had won. But we are still in the playoffs so we need to start to focus on that.”
The depression of sending the seniors off without a victory was a sentiment that resounded throughout the team.
“The game just didn’t go our way in terms of the score,” said Jess Pearce ’06. “We played hard, but it was disappointing that we didn’t win. We did knock Colby out of the playoffs though, which was nice.”
Ironically, the sixth seeded Cardinals are off to play number three seed Williams College, a team that has beaten Wesleyan twice this season and eliminated them from the playoffs each of the last two years. Redemption will be on the mind of the players as they travel to Williamstown, Mass. A trip to the Final Four of the NESCAC is not out of the question for the Cardinals if they are able to produce the type of game of which they know they are capable of playing.
“Goals are going to be very important against Williams,” Pearce said. “If our offense plays well and our defense continues to play like they did this weekend, we have a chance.”
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