The field hockey team ended its long string of six consecutive road games last week by splitting contests at Bates and Tufts.
On Saturday, the Cardinals traveled to meet the Bobcats of Bates, who have struggled this year in NESCAC play. The Cards didn’t click in the first half as they trailed at the half by a 1-0 score, despite only allowing Bates four shots on goal.
The second half was a different story, as the Cardinals stepped up their game to score three of the four second half goals. The Cards received strong second half performances by Julia Perciasepe ’07 (two assists), Cortney Tetrault ’07 (one goal, one assist), and Adrienne Shea ’07 (two goals). The burst of offense was simply an effect of better passing and execution on offense. Both of Shea’s goals were on redirected feeds from pinpoint passes from her teammates. In the game, Shea moved into the team lead with six goals and Cortney Tetrault became the team points leader with 14.
When the Cards faced the Jumbos of Tufts on Tuesday, they had to deal with frigid weather and a sharp opponent. The game was evenly matched and evenly played, as the score was 1-1 at half time with a Wesleyan goal by Amanda Nickels ’08 off a Tetrault assist. The second half was also tightly contested, with seven shots for each team. The game was decided on penalty corners, as the Jumbos closed out the match with two corner goals.
“Tufts was very effective on their penalty corners,” said Alexa Davis ’10. “We just didn’t have an answer for them. On the other side we weren’t successful on our tries.”
Off of the 3-1 loss to Tufts, the Cardinals record now stands at 6-6, 3-4 in the NESCAC. The two remaining games are both against NESCAC opponents, with tomorrow’s game against Little Three rival Amherst. Currently, Wesleyan has a five-game winning streak against Amherst, the most recent a 6-0 shellacking last year.
Tournament hopes are still alive for the Cards, who currently stand sixth in the NESCAC. In order to make the tourney, they must climb to fourth in the conference, a task that is within the Cardinals’ grasp according to Shea.
“We have had some really frustrating and unexpected losses this season, so everyone feels like we haven’t shown the NESCAC that we really are a great team,” Shea said. “Both of our upcoming games are winnable, and we really need the two wins for our seeding.”
The two teams directly in front of the Cardinals are Tufts and Trinity, with both slotted to face tough league opponents in Middlebury and Williams. With victories this Saturday and next Saturday, the door may be wide open for the Cards to make some noise in the conference tournament.
Facing two must win games, the most inspired team on campus this weekend may very well be the field hockey team. The Cards are fighting for their postseason lives, excited about playing in front of the homecoming crowd, and happy to be home again after a long stint of road games.
“It will be really nice to be home again…its homecoming, it’s the dedication of our new field…it’s a great way to return to the turf, and hopefully we’ll use that to our advantage,” Shea said.
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