An offensive explosion in the second half of last Saturday’s home game carried Middlebury to victory over the Cards. The next day the women’s lacrosse team traveled up the road to Massachusetts to square off against third-ranked Amherst College with hopes of rebounding from the loss. The Cards battled to tie the match six times, but were ultimately unable to take the lead and came away on the losing end of the 12-11 score.
The first half was a very physical contest, featuring numerous turnovers on both sides of the ball. Cardinal goalie Kate Jones ’06 was instrumental in keeping the score down, holding back a barrage of shots as the Lady Jeffs tried to penetrate against the strong defense anchored by Katharine Needham ’05, Vanessa Jones ’05, and Jen Bianculli ’07.
Head coach Holly Wheeler cited the solid play of freshman midfielder Sophia Kim ’08, who “came up with some key turnovers and interceptions on the defensive end.”
Lauren Ogden ’07, mentioned by Needham as having been a very consistent player last week, had another strong performance, netting a goal and assisting on two others.
Down 6-4 at the half, the Cards shifted into high gear, beating Jeffs net minder Liv D’Ambrosio six times in the first 20 minutes, leaving the score knotted at 10 with 9:42 remaining. But the Birds were unable to pull ahead, as Ashley Harmeling and Alyssa Briody each potted their fourth tallies of the day to put Amherst up 12-10 with 3:27 to go. With less than 30 seconds left in the game, Becky Meredith ’06 brought the Cards within one, but they were unable to put together a quick strike to force overtime. Becca Vogel ’05 scored five goals in another standout day, bringing her season total to 37 and her career total to 161. With every point scored, Vogel raises the bar for future Cardinals, adding to her record of Wesleyan’s all-time leading scorer.
Despite taking the third-ranked team in the nation to the brink, Needham remained unsatisfied.
“We need to learn how to seal the deal and win these close games,” she said. “Playing a solid game isn’t good enough. However we have a lot of confidence in how’ve we’ve played in these past couple games, so we’re optimistic about the rest of the season and the post season tournament.”
Having lost two straight, the Cardinals stand at 6-4 (2-3 NESCAC) and remain ranked 17th nationally. In two contests this week, the Cards take on Tufts at home on Wednesday at 4:30 and travel to Bowdoin for a Saturday afternoon game.
“Every one of our last regular season games is very important as they will determine our seeding in the post-season,” Wheeler said.
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