Playing only their third home game of the season, the Wesleyan women’s soccer team tied Eastern Connecticut State, 1-1, at Jackson Field on Wednesday afternoon. The Cardinals came in looking for their first win against the Warriors since 1995, while the visitors entered undefeated in their last three contests against the Cards. In the teams’ most recent game, the Warriors took a 3-0 victory on Jackson Field in 2007.
The Cardinals took the lead at the 15:46 mark and carried it into the second half. Dasha Battelle ’11 fed the ball to Katrina Ellis-Ferrara ’13 to deliver the only Cardinal goal of the afternoon. Following a corner kick, Ellis-Ferrara chipped in the ball from about six yards out. Ellis-Ferrara’s goal marked her fourth tally of the season, and she is now tied with Laura Kurash ’13 for the team lead in goals. Kurash is currently sidelined due to injury, but the Cardinals anxiously await her return, as well as that of her .667 shot percentage, to the field.
Wesleyan continued to lead throughout the second half, and it looked like the Cardinals were headed toward their sixth shutout victory of the season. Eastern Connecticut, however, found the back of the net in the 79th minute to tie the score. Evading two Wesleyan defenders, Warrior striker Lauren Hickey was able to hammer a loose ball past Cardinal goalie Kate Connolly-Smithwick ’13 with 11:06 remaining in the contest.
With the score tied 1-1, the Cardinals looked to close the door on Eastern Connecticut in the few remaining minutes in the half. Neither team was able to find the back of the net, however, sending the game to a 10-minute extra period. Following an additional 10 scoreless minutes, the teams hit the pitch for another overtime period. Eastern Connecticut outshot Wesleyan 4-0 in the period, but three saves by Connolly-Smithwick kept the game tied. Even with two corner kicks, the Warriors could not penetrate the Cardinal goal in their attempt to create victory, and the game ended in a 1-1 tie.
Connolly-Smithwick, starting in place of the injured Clare Colton ’12, had another impressive game, remaining cool and collected for the entirety of the 110 minutes. Connolly-Smithwick had 10 saves in the game and improved her save percentage to .917. The game was also the first of the season for Wesleyan that did not end in a shutout—not only have the Cardinals’ five wins come via shutout, but Wesleyan has been held scoreless in its three losses.
The 5-3-1 Cardinals now host Bowdoin on Saturday. The Cards will look to improve on their 14-game winless streak (0-11-3) against the Polar Bears and their 2-3-0 NESCAC record. Start time is set for 11 a.m.
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