Amidst the festivities of Halloween weekend, the Cardinal women’s soccer team made their second straight appearance in the NESCAC tournament, falling to Amherst in overtime to end their season. Wesleyan finalized their seventh-place ranking in the conference standings with Friday’s regular season victory at Connecticut College. The Redbirds took control of the game early, establishing their offensive momentum with a pair of first-half goals. In the 30th minute, rookie Laura Kurash ’13 netted her sixth goal of the season with an unassisted 25-yard blast. Dasha Battelle ’11 continued the scoring streak by burying a header, scoring off of a cross into traffic from co-captain Beth Kenworthy ’10. The Cards closed out the scoring in the second half with a goal by Kailtin Ashley ’11. Assisted by Anna Crystal ’11, Ashley chipped the ball into the net to make it 3-0 in favor of Wesleyan.
Notably, the Cardinals dominated ball possession throughout the game, outshooting the Camels 20-10. Wesleyan also took ten corner kicks to Conn. College’s one. By handily defeating their in-state rival, the Cards turned in their eighth win of the year, ensuring back-to-back winning seasons for just the third time in team history and the most wins for the team since the 12-win 1994 campaign. The Cardinals also broke the school record for shutouts with seven as Kate Connolly-Smithwick ’13 had six saves to secure the new record.
With the decisive win against Conn., the Lady Cards traveled to Amherst to play in the first round of the NESCAC Tournament. The Lord Jeffs scored first in the sixteenth minute, on a cross that was headed into the back of the net by a diving player, and took a 1-0 lead to halftime. The Cardinals rebounded in the second half to tie the score in transition. Kaylin Berger ’13 sent a pass through the Amherst defense enabling Katrina Ellis-Ferrara ’13 to run onto the long pass for a breakaway. Ellis-Ferrara finished the play by chipping a shot from the top of the box over the Amherst goalkeeper’s outstretched hands.
In the final minute of play, the Cardinals almost secured a win from a set play taken by Kurash, who sent a well placed shot towards the net but hit the crossbar. The game then went to overtime, the second overtime contest in the two rivals’ last five meetings. Presented with the same scoring opportunity just one minute into the extra period, the Lord Jeffs capitalized to win the game with a hard shot into the top-left corner of the goal. With the win, Amherst advanced into the tournament semifinals, and Wesleyan’s season came to a close at the hands of the Lord Jeffs for the second straight season.
The Cardinals closed their season with an overall record of 8-6-1 and a conference record of 4-5-0. The women turned in their second straight winning campaign, and had an impressive defensive season, setting a new school record for shutouts. The Cards will miss the consistent leadership and marked presence of seniors Beth Kenworthy ’10, Alisha Neptune ’10, Ingrid Parl ’10, and Taylor Stevenson ’10. Even with the loss of a strong senior class, however, Wesleyan will return their top four goal scorers and both goaltenders in fall 2010 and will look to continue their ascension into the NESCAC’s elite.
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