The women’s soccer team earned its first NESCAC victory on Saturday, defeating Colby 2-0 on Jackson Field. The Cardinals’ victory marked their fourth consecutive win over the Mules; Wesleyan had gone 0-6-3 in its first nine games against its Maine foe.
The Cardinals began their attacking run midway through the first half, scoring their two goals of the afternoon just 1:49 apart. Handling a long serve from Beth Kenworthy ’10, Katrina Ellis-Perrara ‘13 knocked the ball into the back of the net for the Cardinals at the 25:37 mark. Wesleyan continued its attacking momentum as another freshman attacker, Lily Kaplan, netted her second goal of the season at 27:28. Kaitlin Ashley ‘11 struck a beautiful cross into traffic in front of the net to assist Kaplan. The class of 2013 continued their offensive domination; currently, the top three goal scorers on the club are freshman.
“Colby was a must-win,” said Ashley, “and we came out ready to go, playing some nice soccer in the first half. We were able to push our defense up and lock them into their own half, and got some nice scoring opportunities, which resulted in Katrina and Lily’s goals.”
On the defensive end of the pitch, the women held their second straight opponent scoreless. Three of Wesleyan’s four wins against Colby have come by shutout; Wesleyan took last year’s meeting in Waterville 1-0 and did the same in 2006. Sophomore goalkeeper Clare Colton had three saves to secure her third career shutout for the Cardinals. With Wesleyan’s only goals coming from a hot stretch in the first half, the defense was put to the test.
“We lagged a little bit in the second half and played pretty defensively,” said Ashley, “but we fought hard and they were unable to break through and score. It was encouraging that we were still able to beat Colby despite the lull in the second half, and hopefully we’ll come out against Mount Holyoke and Tufts the way we played in the first half.”
The Cardinals travel to Mount Holyoke on Tuesday looking to win their third straight game and continue their recent hot streak: Wesleyan has outscored its last two opponents 9-0. Mount Holyoke will be the Cardinals’ second non-conference match-up of the season. In recent years, Wesleyan has handled Mount Holyoke with ease, defeating the Lyons three seasons in a row and outscoring them 8-1 during that span.
“I think if we’re able to play with the intensity and composure we exhibited in the first half against Colby, we’ll have some great results this week,” said Ashley.
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