A first half goal from senior co-captain Jen Wasserman sparked the Cardinals for the second straight game, as the field hockey team cruised to a 3-0 win over Smith College, capturing their third straight victory and second straight shutout.
Playing under the lights on Wed, in its only night competition of the regular season, the Red and Black played slow until Wasserman netted her goal late in the first half.
“Smith is not a very strong team,” said Cortney Tetrault ’07. “We weren’t focusing early, and ended up playing down to their level. For a while it was ping-pong back and forth with no one really controlling or attacking on either end.”
Coming into the second half with a 1-0 advantage, Wesleyan made some changes to try and help the offense get rolling.
“We had to mix it up after the first half,” said coach Patti Klecha-Porter. “The play had been pretty even until Jen scored and turned the game up a little bit. We just needed to concentrate on playing our game.”
With 16 minutes remaining in the second half, Tetrault broke away from defenders at midfield and pushed the ball all the way up to the top of the circle before letting loose on a long range goal, giving the Cardinals a 2-0 advantage and declaring open-season on Smith goaltender Sydney Siegel. Molly Adams ’06 would tack on a third goal at the eight minute mark with one of the 29 Cardinals’ shots on goal, a season high for the squad.
“The defense continued to play very well,” Klecha-Porter said. “We were stopping the attack very high up, and doing good work to get the ball up the sidelines and deep into the offensive end. The field was spread out well, and we really put the pressure on their goaltender. She played a great game, but we were giving her all she could handle. It was a lot of fun to watch.”
The players agreed that the midfielders were essential to Wesleyan’s ability to generate so much offense.
“The midfielders were doing a great job dropping back on defense and working the top of the circle on offense,” Wasserman said. “Cortney made a great run up field and scored a nice goal from out beyond the circle. She’s really been doing great things for us from the midfield position.”
Tetrault, who has assisted on three of Jen’s four goals this season, praised Wasserman.
“When someone’s stepping up and playing well, the team feeds off of that. Jen got us started in the first, and by the end of the second half we were really playing well. I like having Jen there with me up front,” Tetrault said. “I have a sense of where she’s going to be, so I can just leave a ball for her to run onto it. It’s a good connection.”
For the Cardinal women, finding a source of motivation has been the key to their early success, as the squad has rallied around late game goals, standout offensive and defensive play as well as sparks off the bench. Wasserman cited the play of Leora Rodenstein ’05 as a big source of lift for the team Wednesday.
“She did a great job stepping up. She played the whole game and really gave the team what it needed tonight. She was a tribute to our depth,” Wasserman said.
The focus for the team will now shift to Middlebury. Playing at home last Saturday, the Bobcats handed Tufts an embarrassing 7-1 defeat, showing why they have a legitimate shot to play for the NESCAC title this year. Wesleyan practiced on the Trinity turf Monday night in preparation for Saturday’s match-up. They continue to practice defending against Middlebury’s two-forward offensive set. The showdown is scheduled for 11 a.m. this Saturday at Middlebury’s Vermont campus.
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