The field hockey team traveled to Middlebury to face the nationally ranked Panthers in Vermont on Saturday. The newly confident Cardinals, however, could not handle Middlebury’s fast-paced offense and impenetrable defense, falling 6-0 in the early season test.
Right from the opening whistle, the Panthers dominated the tempo of the game while the Cardinals struggled to adjust. In a short few minutes, Wesleyan began to lose both its confidence and composure as Middlebury quickly built up a 6-0 halftime lead. Down by half-a-dozen at the half, head coach Patti Kletcher-Porter was forced to make some adjustments and fire up her players.
Despite the overwhelming odds, the team was ready to play for the win. With renewed tenacity, the Cardinals battled fiercely throughout the second half but were unable to penetrate Middlebury’s steel wall of defense, and the second half ended without a score from either side. Afterwards, captain Megan Gauvey-Kern ’05 expressed her disappointment.
“Nobody is happy with the result,” Gauvey-Kern said. “We just did not play our hockey, we did not set the tone of the game, and we lacked confidence. Not to take anything away from Middlebury—they’re a great team—but we did not play our best.”
After studying the game film, the team will be able to make adjustments, and hopefully use the loss as a learning experience to assist the Cardinals in competition with the elite teams in the future. The loss comes off a stretch where the Red and Black outscored opponents 7-1 over a three game span, but it was especially bitter for the Cards since they spent the off-season working to improve their stick skills and ability to play on turf.
Many of the players viewed this game as a chance to assess their improvements on turf against a highly skilled opponent. In June, returning players traveled to Europe to play against club teams in Amsterdam, Germany and Belgium. Most importantly, they had an opportunity to train on turf, the surface on which most of Wesleyan’s postseason matches will be held. As any field hockey player will explain, turf adds a new dimension to an already fast paced game.
“The speed of the game is faster and there is less room for error,” said goalie Amy Rosen ’07. “As a result, the importance of passing the ball well increases.”
With the renewed confident attitude stemming from a stellar defensive second half, the Cardinals will be a dangerous team as the season progresses. Their next match comes at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday at home against Wheaton College.
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