The field hockey team dropped its first game of the regular season Saturday, suffering a dramatic 4-3 overtime loss at Williams College.
Opening the season on the road against one of the best teams in the league, the Cardinal women knew they would have to work hard from the first whistle to defend last year’s Little Three title. Aggressive attacking by Williams early saw the Ephs jump out to a 2-0 lead in the games first five minutes, which forced Wesleyan to make some adjustments. Coach Patti Klecha-Porter elected to switch out second-team All-NESCAC goalie Caitlin Kelly ’07 in favor of Daphne Clyburn ’07.
“When something’s not working, I’ll try something different,” Klecha-Porter said. “Williams put good shots on goal and really put the pressure on Caitlin early. It was tough. All three goalies are sophomores and they’ll be in a consistent battle for the position throughout the season.”
Co-captain Louisa Mook ’05 knew the team would have to step up its game if it wanted to stay in it.
“We were confident in our defense, and when they got up on us so early it was a real eye-opener,” said Mook. “Right then we knew we’d have to play harder or it was going to get out of hand. That really helped us to step up our teamwork.”
Williams notched a third goal before halftime, but Amanda Nickels ’08 got Wesleyan on the board with her first career goal and gave the team some momentum to work with as the Cardinals went into the second half down 3-1.
“The freshmen played really well,” said co-captain Jen Wasserman ’05. “They give us good depth off the bench, and there’s really no lag in the quality or speed of play. They’ve made a good transition to the college game.”
The Cards surged into the second frame, controlling the pace and direction of play for the remainder of regulation. Just minutes into second half action, Liz Dee ’06 capitalized on a nice corner hit and set up Cortney Tetrault ’07 for Wesleyan’s second goal, pulling the Cardinals within one and setting the stage for some last minute heroics.
The Cardinal defense was the key to the second half, limiting scoring chances and keeping the ball on the offensive end. With only 1:42 left in regulation, Mook took control on the offensive side and burned one by the Williams goalie to knot the game at 3-3. The seemingly tireless defense kept the pressure on Williams for the remainder of the half, leaving the score tied, and the Little Three rivals headed for overtime.
“We dominated play after halftime,” Mook said. “We were all working as hard as we could to make something happen, and it just came down to converting opportunities.”
Cardinal domination continued throughout the overtime session, as the team managed six shots on goal, but were unable to find the back of the cage. Tara Boyd of Williams would deliver the deciding blow, netting her second goal of the game and leading her team to a 1-0 record. But in the end both captains were happy with the comeback.
“We weren’t scoring on scrappy, garbage goals. We put great pressure on and got good results, and Louisa’s goal gave the team a tremendous lift heading into overtime,” Wasserman said. “After 80 minutes of field hockey, we may have just gotten tired. We have to work on scoring first and not always chasing the lead, because for more than half the game we really looked like the better team.”
“To come out and battle back against Williams is great,” Mook said. “Having to play them in our first game really helps to set the tone for the entire season because they’re always very competitive, and how we play them can help the team to see how well we can do. It was a great comeback, but we can’t rely on our ability to do that.”
The Cardinal women will play at home this Thursday at 4:30 p.m., facing off against Babson College.
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