After a promising season opening victory against Trinity, the women’s hockey team has fallen into a rut of harsh losses. The team won its Nov. 17 opener against Trinity 5-2, but followed the win with a 1-5 loss to the Bantams the next day. The following weekend fared worse, as the Cards dropped two in a row to Amherst.
“We were really pumped going into our first game with Trinity,” said Adrienne Shea ’08. “We let that get the best of us going into the next games. It has a lot to do with our attitude going in.”
Coach Donna Wright notes that Trinity, after having lost its first game at home, came back exceptionally strong the second day with intensity the Cardinals were unable to match.
“Lack of discipline, intensity, fitness…we need [to be] strong shift after shift,” Wright said. “We’re working on overall level of fitness because when you’re tired you’re less disciplined.”
Wright also commented on the inconsistency of the team’s play that has resulted in strong first periods followed by struggles in the second and third periods.
In addition to maintaining focus, the team will have to develop a more aggressive offense. In its second game against Trinity, the team had 20 shots on goal compared to Trinity’s 37. Hannah Jackson ’09 scored the sole goal for the game, a shorthanded goal in the first period off an assist from Amanda Nickels ’08 and Julia Kazmers ’08.
The match-up against Amherst was even more stilted. In the first 0-3 loss, the team had 13 shots on goal to Amherst’s 28. In the second game, Wesleyan took 14 shots on goal to Amherst’s 45, resulting in a 1-5 loss. Jessica Fischer ’08 scored at the end of the third period to save the team from another shutout loss.
While waiting for its offense to develop, the team will have to rely on their defense, led by returning goalie Rachel Stemmerman ’09.
“Rachel does a phenomenal job keeping the puck out of the net, we just need to work on putting it in ourselves,” said captain Molly Adams ’07. Adams, Erin Fitzsimmons ’10, and Kazmers are all standouts on the defensive side of the ice.
Offensively, the team is led by Jackson, who was the top scorer last year, and leads the scoring this year with two goals. In addition to her goal in the loss to Trinity, she scored the second goal in the win against Trinity, a powerplay in the first period. Adams scored the first goal of that game, shorthanded in the first. The other scorers in the win were Kazmers, Nickels and Conner Brannen ’10.
The Cardinals continue their season this at Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. with a duo of home games against Hamilton. Last year, the team split with Hamilton, losing the first game 3-7 but coming back the next day to win 1-0.
“It will be a tough game, fast and physical,” Wright said. “But we can compete with any of these teams.”
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