The women’s soccer team split two games last week, downing Smith College on Tuesday and dropping a tough 1-0 loss to Middlebury College on Saturday. The Cards (3-2, 1-2 NESCAC) continue to show promise and currently hold down seventh place in the NESCAC standings, a position that would earn them a playoff birth.
Wednesday’s 1-0 victory tied the program’s record for most consecutive shut out victories with three.
In their first game of the week, Wesleyan pulled out a victory over a scrappy Smith team that hit the post twice in the final fifteen minutes, the second coming with only thirty seconds remaining. Nicole Gray ’08 provided the only scoring of the contest, firing home her first goal of the season in the 40th minute.
Gray collected the ball at the top of the box following a Jaime Wendel ’07 corner kick and deposited her shot into the upper right hand corner. The Cards then held on the rest of the way, with goalkeeper Suz Gerhardt ’09 recording seven saves.
The victory illustrated this team’s ability to earn a victory even when not at the top of their game, a capability that will serve them well throughout the season, particularly in NESCAC contests.
The Cardinals then made the long trip to Middlebury to take on the Panthers last Saturday. The game saw high quality play from both teams, but Middlebury struck first eighteen minutes in and then outlasted the Cards to take the victory.
While it was disappointing to drop a 1-0 decision to possibly the toughest team Wesleyan has faced thus far, the game allowed the team to see how far they have come and where they still need to improve.
“The Middlebury game was definitely the best soccer we’ve played thus far, particularly in the first half,” Marcia Whitehead ’08 said. “It was frustrating not to come away with a win, but it was evidence that we are getting more and more comfortable with each other and with our system. Middlebury is a strong team in our league so playing them so close is a good sign for the rest of the season.”
Despite being unable to find the equalizer, the Cards were not without opportunities. They fired thirteen shots, forcing Middlebury goalkeeper Adele Plunkett to make seven saves.
“Despite our loss this weekend, we’ve come a long way since last season,” Sarah Orkin ’09 said. “We have high expectations for the rest of the season and hope to win many more games.”
Meanwhile, the Cards’ defensive core continues to gel in front of Gerhardt. Since entering halfway through the season opener at Williams, Gerhardt sports an impressive 0.44 goals against average while making 29 saves. Her goals against average should place Gerhardt near the top of the conference standings in that category when the statistics are released Tuesday.
The Cards have two home games this week. Thursday they will face out of conference opponent Western Connecticut State University, a team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament last season before returning to NESCAC play against Connecticut College on Saturday.
“We’re really excited about our games this week, particularly [Connecticut] College next Saturday, which is a game we should expect to win,” Whitehead said.
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