The women’s soccer team played their third-to-last home game of the season on Saturday. Facing NESCAC opponent Bowdoin, the Cards looked to end a fourteen-game winless steak against the Polar Bears, but instead ended up extending it after a 2-1 defeat in overtime.
The score remained tied throughout the first half, but Bowdoin dominated possession. The Polar Bears were unable to translate their five corner kicks into goals, however, and none of their seven shots were able to find the back of the net. Playing defensively, the Cardinals only had two shots on goal in the first half, and had no corner kicks to spark offensive momentum. The Cardinals had their best opportunity to score in the 20th minute as Katrina Ellis-Ferrara ’13 beat two players in the center of the field and finished her run with a pass forward to Mikaela Curtin ’13. Unable to translate this attacking run into a scoreboard tally, however, the teams entered halftime with a scoreless tie.
The intensity of the game picked up in the second half with both teams finding the back of the net. The Polar Bears scored first in the 67th minute with a hard shot into the top right from an unmarked player in the center of the box. The Cardinals quickly responded in the 72nd minute with a goal by Kaylin Berger ’13. Attacking hard from the right side of the pitch, she dribbled past two defenders and shot from the top of the box to score low in the left back post.
“Our momentum came back to us after we scored in the 72nd minute,” said Berger. “Once we score, we definitely pick up the pace and work hard to bring some intensity. On Saturday we got a bit complacent, forgetting that it was a tie and that we needed some more shots in order to score and win. Also, we had some trouble getting the ball up to their [box]. We really went hard though and everyone left it all out on the field, it was just a disappointing end.”
The Cardinals found another opportunity to shoot for the win in the second half with three minutes left. After the Bowdoin goalie handled the ball outside of the box, Wesleyan was awarded a free kick, and Beth Kenworthy ’10 stepped up for the Cardinals to take the shot. Kenworthy was unable to knock the ball into the back of the net, however, and the score stayed 1-1 after 90 minutes.
In their previous game, on Wednesday afternoon, the Cardinals played to a 1-1 draw against Eastern Connecticut State after a pair of overtime periods. On Saturday, however, Bowdoin got the golden goal in the sixth minute following a corner kick, sending Wesleyan to the 2-1 loss and extending the Cardinals’ winless streak against the Polar Bears to 15 games (0-12-3).
The Cardinals leaned heavily on their defensive gameas Wesleyan countered the Polar Bears’ eighteen shots with seven saves from goalie Kate Connolly-Smithwick ’13.
“Our defense is strong but can’t hold off teams for 90 minutes when they’re being bombarded over and over again,” said Berger. “It’s just going to take a team effort to win. We’re as good as almost any other team in the NESCAC but we’re not performing up to our best standard consistently.”
The Cardinals return to action on Wednesday with a home game against Rhode Island College, with kick-off set for 4:00.
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