What a difference a week makes. One week ago the women’s field hockey team was reeling from a debilitating 6-0 loss to Middlebury. Since then, the Red and Black has outscored its opponents 12-1. The latest victim was Connecticut College, who were stifled by Wesleyan’s defense on Saturday in a 3-0 shut-out.
From the opening whistle, the Cardinals dominated the contest, applying offensive pressure and building a wall of defense that would prove to be impenetrable for the team in blue. Barely two minutes into the game, co-captain Jenn Wasserman ’05 received a beautiful pass from Courtney Tetrault ’07. Wasserman fired into the back of the goal to put the Cards up 1-0. Unbeknownst to her teammates at the time, Wasserman had already provided enough of a margin for victory.
Following Wasserman’s goal, the game’s momentum shifted back and forth, and at times it looked as if Wesleyan was about to lose its slim margin. But just when it seemed that the Camels would answer with a score of their own, the Cardinals would stiffen defensively, block a scoring opportunity and launch an attack of their own.
With the game in the balance, attacker Louisa Mook ’05 knew she had to come up big. Receiving a nice pass from Amanda Nickels ’08, Mook attacked the goal dribbling past a defender before launching the ball straight into the back of the net. With the security of a 2-0 lead, the Red and Black went into the second half with confidence.
Mook opened up the second half right where she left off in the first, stealing the ball from a Camel defender eleven minutes in, dribbling past two opponents and shooting a bullet past the Camel goalie for a 3-0 lead.
While the Wesleyan offense was impressive, the highlight of the day was the brilliant play on the defensive side of the ball. Faced against a relentless Camel attack that produced no less than nine corners and eleven shots, the Cardinal defenders never allowed the Camels to get a good look at the goal. Furthermore the Red and Black defenders were able to channel the Connecticut College aggression into counter attacks, which left their opponents scrambling to protect their own goal.
The player who perhaps best illustrates both the Cardinals’ defensive ability and the ability to transition is Tetrault, who is having a sensational week. On Wednesday, Tetrault led all scorers with three goals and two assists in a 9-1 win against Wheaton. Against Connecticut College, she again dominated the midfield, adding another assist.
“Courtney had a really good game defensively,” said Sara Rosenfeld ’07. “She also helped the team offensively and had an assist.”
By playing efficiently and continuing to exert pressure, Wesleyan slowly wore down Connecticut College, which allowed the Cards to increase the lead as the game progressed.
“We didn’t let up,” said Zoe Cohen ’06. “We kept the pressure even after scoring a goal. Five minutes after you score is crucial to how the game will turn out.”
Mook, arguably the player of the game, also feels that this is an aspect that the team can improve.
“Our intensity dropped a little after the first twenty minutes,” Mook said. “We got tired, but we also continued to play together.”
Despite her criticism, Mook still considers Saturday’s victory a huge win, and she is not alone.
“We’ve played the two toughest teams,” said Liz Dee ’06. “We don’t have any reason to lose now.”
With renewed confidence, the Cardinals (5-2 overall, 2-2 NESCAC) travel to Waterville to face the Colby Mules on Saturday.
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