Author: David Gottlieb

The Wesleyan women’s track team continued its superb season with strong showings at both the final regular season meet at Trinity College on Saturday, April 23, and the NESCAC Championships this past Saturday, April 30 at Hamilton. During the meet on April 23, the Cards came in fourth place out of 10 teams. Individually, the meet saw Grace Devanny ’23 break yet another school record in outdoor track as she finished second in the 200 meters with a time of 24.87 seconds, which broke the previous school record of 24.88 seconds that was set back in 2003.

Five other Cardinals placed in the top five in their events at the Trinity Invitational. Augusta Burhans ’23 finished third in the 100 meters with a time of 12.61, Kenzie Kelly ’25 finished fourth in the 400 meters with a personal best time of 59.66, Maeve Hoffman ’23 finished first in both the 800 meters with a time of 2:16.80 (with Abi Pipkin ’22 finishing second in that event) and the 1500 meters with a time of 4:42.29, and Cornelia Carragher ’25 finished fifth in the 1500 meters with a time of 5:02.35.

In the field events, the Cards had four athletes place in the top ten, highlighted by Mallory Elliott ’23 finishing second in the high jump with a personal best jump of 1.52 meters. Other notable field results included Chiara Christie ’23 finishing fourth in the javelin with a throw of 30.23 meters, Sarah Schlosberg ’25 finishing sixth in the long jump with a jump of 4.84 meters, and Erika Kluge ’23 finished fourth in the pole vault at 3.10 meters (a personal best). 

Following the successful meet at Trinity, Wesleyan began its string of postseason championship meets by competing in the NESCAC Championships. At the meet at Hamilton College, they placed sixth out of the 11 competing NESCAC schools, putting together a strong meet as a whole. Individual highlights of the championships included Devanny winning the 400 meters with a school record time of 55.41 and finishing second in the 200 meters with a time of 24.41 (breaking the school record that she had only set the week prior), Hoffman finishing third in the 800 meters with a time of 2.12.17, and Claire Edwards ’24 finishing fourth in the discus throw with a maximum distance of 35.05 meters. Six other Cardinals also placed in the top 10 in their respective events individually. As for the team relay events, the Red and Black won the 4×400 meter relay as the team of Devanny, Kelly, Hoffman, and Becky Velie ’22 came across the line first with a time of 3.53.87. Overall, Devanny was ecstatic with the team’s performance these past couple of competitions and how hard everyone has worked to perform well when competing.  

“I think everyone competed to the best of their abilities and left it all out of the track,” Devanny said. “We did so well as both individuals and as a team. One of our senior leaders said at the end of the meet, ‘What we lack in depth, we make up for in heart,’ and I can’t describe our performance on Saturday any better way. We took the ups and downs we endured as a team and used it for motivation on the track.”

Devanny highlighted the mental aspect of the team’s preparation as being crucial to their successes during the last two meets.

“We just all had to trust our training and remind ourselves that we were ready to compete,” Devanny said.

Next up, the run of championship meets continues with the New England DIII Championships at Williams College this Friday, May 6 and Saturday, May 7, followed by the New England Championships at Bryan University in Rhode Island on the weekend of May 13 through 14. Devanny explained that the key to performing well at these competitions is to not push too hard during training heading into these meets. 

“I think the biggest factor is staying healthy and not burning out,” Devanny said. “It’s been a very long season and many athletes, unfortunately, had their season end early due to injuries. So if we can take care of our mental and physical health, we will put ourselves in a good position going into the rest of the championship meets.”

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu.

The women’s track and field team continued their strong season with impressive results in their last two meets at Amherst College and Connecticut College. At the Amherst Spring Fling on Saturday, April 9, the Cardinals scored five top three finishes, highlighted by Grace Devanny ’23 finishing first in the 400-meter race with a time of 55.68 and Miranda Graves ’23 finishing first in the 5,000-meter race with a time of 18:08. Devanny ’23 won her race by almost three seconds, while Graves ’23 won hers by 40 seconds.

In addition to the two victories, the meet saw Augusta Burhans ’23 finish third in the 200-meter race with a time of 26.75, Becky Velie ’22 finish third in the 1,500-meter race with a time of 4:45.56, and Mia Clark ’25 finish second in the 5,000-meter race behind Graves ’23 with a time of 18:49.79. The Cards posted an additional three top four finishes as Gabby Harris ’23 finished fourth in the 100-meter race with a time of 12.72, Sarah Schlosberg ’25 finished fourth in the long jump, and Mallory Elliott ’23 finished fourth in the high jump.

Following their stellar individual performances at Amherst, the team then competed in the Silfen Invitational at Connecticut College on Friday, April 15 and Saturday, April 16, where they finished eighth out of the 21 competing teams. The Cards once again had numerous top 10 finishes, with Devanny ’23 finishing fourth in the 100-meter race with a time of 12.26 and second in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:13.11, and Graves ’23 coming in third in the 10,000-meter race with a time of 37:08.61. In addition to the three top five finishes, Burhans ’23 finished eighth in the 100-meter race with a time of 12.51, Addie Thomas ’22 finished ninth in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:20.95, and Velie ’22 finished third in the 1,500-meter race with a time of 4:47.19.

The Cards also had a stellar performance in the 4x100m relay as the team of Devanny ’23, Kenzie Kelly ’25, Burhans ’23, and Schlosberg ’25 finished second with a time of 49.03. In the field events, Claire Edwards ’24 finished third in the discus with a personal best throw of 34.94 meters, and Elliott ’23 took fourth in the high jump with a jump of 1.52 meters, which was also a personal best. Overall, Devanny ’23 is happy with the team’s performance across the past three meets.

“The team had been competing really well, as many people reached all-time and season PRs in the last meet,” Devanny ’23 said. “It’s really exciting seeing all of your teammates succeed right before NESCACs.”

Devanny ’23 added that she admired the team’s ability to stay calm in the face of competition.  

“My teammates and I have been talking about going into races with an open mind and to compete against yourself,” Devanny ’23 said. “Racing relaxed and calm has been helpful for a lot of us to relieve some of the pressure and stress that the end of the season brings.” 

Buhrans ’23 agreed, highlighting team’s mental fortitude as being central to their future success.

“I think the key to success is staying positive and focused,” Burhans ’23 said. “We are probably at peak shape physically, so now it is important to stay mentally strong.”

Next up, the Cards head to Trinity College on Saturday, April 23 for their final meet of the regular season before heading up to Hamilton College the next weekend on Saturday, April 30 for the NESCAC Championships. Burhans ’23 says the key to success heading into these weekends is to be in the best shape possible mentally and physically to compete.

“Heading into the latter part of the season it is key for us to stay healthy,” Burhans ’23 said. “We have been practicing since November 15 and competing since December 10, so our bodies are definitely pretty exhausted. What is important is for us to sleep well, eat well, and take care of ourselves so we can finish out the season strong.”

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu.

Following a successful indoor season that saw two runners qualify for and finish in the top 10 at the NCAA Indoor Championships, the Wesleyan women’s track and field team is off to a strong start to the outdoor portion of the season after the first two outdoor meets.

In the first home meet, the Red and Black performed well across the board in both the individual events and the team relays. Some of the highlights in the individual events were Grace Devanny ’23 finishing first in the 800 meters by seven seconds with a time of 2.17.42 and Becky Velie ’22 finishing first in the 1500 meters by five seconds with a time of 4:47. In addition to the first place finishes, two other athletes finished top five in their events, with Miranda Graves ’23 finishing second in the 3000 meters and Chiara Christie ’23 finishing third in the javelin. In the relays, Wesleyan put together a stellar performance in the 4×100 meters as the team of Gabby Harris ’23, Kenzie Kelly ’25, Augusta Burhans ’23, and Devanny took first place with a time of 48.34.

The Cardinals followed this strong performance with another outstanding outing at the Tufts Snowflake Classic this past weekend, taking third place out of 18 teams competing. The Cards were able to place 11 different athletes in the top five across many events during the entire meet. In the 4×100 meters, the team of Harris, Kelly, Burhans, and Devanny earned first place, as did the 4×400 meter team of Sarah Schlosburg ’25, Abigail Pipkin ’22, Velie, and Devanny.

Devanny and Velie each had stellar individual performances as well. Devanny came in first in the 200 meters with a time of 24.98, and Velie came in first in the 800 meters with a time of 2.17.73. Other top five finishes included Burhans and Harris in the 100 meters, Harris and Kelly in the 200 meters behind Devanny, Pipkin and Addie Thomas ’22 in the 800 meters behind Velie, and Christie finishing fifth in the javelin. In addition to the numerous top five finishes, five other athletes finished in the top 10 in their respective events to cap off a tremendous performance for the team. Throughout the season so far, Devanny has been pleased with how the team has competed and their results.

“I think everyone performed really well,” Devanny wrote in a message to The Argus. “Early outdoor season is always difficult and unpredictable because of the weather and other factors. So I think we are all putting in the work in practice and hoping it translates onto the track.”

Devanny highlighted the importance of the two-season structure of track and field for the success that the team has enjoyed thus far. 

“I think the key is building off of the work we did during indoor season,” Devanny wrote. “Many of these teams often view us as an underdog, so I think we are all using that as fuel to continue training hard after indoor season and proving we are one of the better teams in the NESCAC.”

Next up, the team heads to Amherst College to compete in the Amherst Spring Fling on Saturday, April 9. This will be followed by the Silfen Invitational at Conn. College on April 15 and 16. While having two seasons is great for building a strong foundation for the team, it can also be burdensome to compete continuously. Devanny says that in order to continue to produce good results in these meets, the team will have to take great care in ensuring that they don’t burn out.

“We have been competing and training nearly six times a week since the middle of January,” Devanny wrote. “The length of the season takes a huge toll on your body and mental health. So, keeping your mind and body healthy and strong will be the key to our success in the future.”

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu.

The men’s hockey team’s season came to an end on Sunday, Feb. 27 following a tough loss to Hamilton in the NESCAC quarterfinals by a score of 3–2. The Cards had wrapped up their regular season the previous weekend poorly with two losses to Trinity College.

In the first of the two games against Trinity, Wesleyan lost 3–2 in overtime after blowing a 2–1 third period lead. Against the Bantams at home, the Cardinals jumped out to a first period lead as Go Uemura ’23 scored with a little over three minutes to go in the period, giving the Red and Black a 1–0 lead into the first intermission. Trinity responded in the second period before Wesleyan retook the lead with a little over three minutes left on a shorthanded goal from Owen Sweet ’25. The Cardinals maintained the 2–1 lead until Trinity tied it up with just six minutes to go. Trinity took advantage of starting the period that eventually went into overtime on a power play and scored just after the penalty expired to win the game. On the stat sheet, the Bantams outshot the Cards 35–19, but goalie Marc Smith ’24 made a career-high 32 saves to hold the Trinity offense to the three goals.

Following the overtime loss, Wesleyan headed up to Hartford to play the second of the two games against Trinity and, once again, the Cards fell to the Bantams, this time by a score of 6–3. Just like the first game, the Red and Black got on the scoreboard first with a goal from Uemura, putting the Cards up 1–0 in the first period. The Red and Black then doubled their lead as Danny Sorabella ’22 scored shorthanded on a breakaway to extend the lead to 2–0 just over halfway through the period. Trinity soon cut the lead to one right before the intermission. In the second period, the Bantams made a goalie change and carried over the momentum from before the intermission to score three unanswered goals in the second, taking a 4–2 lead into third. Trinity then extended their lead to 5–2 early in the third period before Uemura scored his second of the game, cutting it to 5–3 late in regulation. The Bantams added a sixth goal five minutes after Uemura’s goal and closed out the 6–3 victory. Trinity outshot the Cardinals 33–24 for the game, while goalie Erik Voloshin ’24 made 27 saves. 

The Red and Black finished the season with a conference record of 8–7–3 (11–10–3 overall), earning them the fourth seed in the NESCAC and the right to host a quarterfinal game versus the fifth-seeded Continentals. 

Against Hamilton, Wesleyan surrendered the first goal for the first time in three games as Smith uncharacteristically let a shot get by him from practically center ice just over two minutes into the game. The Cards bounced back from being down early in the game, drawing level right before the intermission on a goal from Wiggle Kerbrat ’23. In the second period, the Continentals scored in just under five minutes to take a 2–1 lead. The Cards once again battled back as Uemura scored, tying the game up at two with just under seven minutes to go in the second. The deadlock was short-lived, however, as Hamilton scored to take a 3–2 lead just two minutes later. Wesleyan pushed to tie it up during the remainder of the game, but could not find the back of the net, bringing their season to an end. On the stat sheet, the Cardinals outshot Hamilton 28–16, and Smith made 13 saves in the losing effort.

Overall, despite the tough stretch of games to end the season, defenseman Liam Donelan ’23 was pleased with the team’s effort. 

“The last three games of the season certainly foreshadow a promising 2022–2023 season,” Donelan said. “Despite the results of those games, I felt that our team showed…strong character.” 

Donelan added that even though it may have ended not they way they wanted, there are a lot of positives to take away from the season. 

“Earning the third home playoff game in Wesleyan men’s hockey history was an exceptional accomplishment,” Donelan said. “Our team grew tremendously throughout the season, learning how to play in close games, and battle through adversity, which was impressive for a team with so many playing their first year of college hockey.”

Looking forward, Donelan says the key to success is to continue to work to improve as a team to take a step forward next season.

“Going into next year, it’s going to be important to be confident in both our individual and team play,” Donelan said. “Continuing to improve on our play in all three zones will make us a more balanced and complete team.”

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu. 

The men’s hockey team’s winning streak was snapped this past weekend as they tied with Colby College and lost to Bowdoin College at home. They now sit in third place in the NESCAC with a record of 8–5–3 in the conference and 10–9–3 overall.

Facing Colby, the Red and Black fell behind early as they surrendered two quick first period goals. However, in the second period, the Cardinals’ offense came to life as forward Alex Giummo ’23 scored on the power play to cut the deficit to one with just under five minutes left before the break. They tied it up at two a little under halfway into the third period as forward Danny Sorabella ’22 scored his second goal of the season on a nice shot from the slot. Following the goal, Wesleyan pushed unsuccessfully for the go-ahead goal during the remaining minutes of regulation. The game eventually went to OT, where neither team scored and the game finished at 2–2. Overall, the Cards outshot Colby 29–25 and goaltender Marc Smith ’24 made 23 crucial saves that enabled the comeback.

Following the tie against Colby, the Red and Black lost 4–1 to Bowdoin. Against the Polar Bears, the Cards once again fell behind early as they gave up a goal late in the opening period. In the second, Wesleyan tied the game up through defender Matt Zandi ’21 MA ’22. However, the game remained tied for only a few minutes, with Bowdoin scoring just three minutes later to retake the lead at 2–1. With just over five minutes to go in regulation, Bowdoin scored to double their lead and then added an empty netter with two minutes remaining to close out the 4–1 victory. In their losing effort, the Cards outshot Bowdoin 31–28 and Erik Voloshin ’24 made 24 saves in goal.

Overall, Sorabella was less than pleased with how the team looked, pointing out their slow starts in both games.

“I thought we got off to a slow start in both games,” Sorabella said. “It’s hard to win a game going down one or two goals in the first. This is something we’ve been working on, putting an emphasis on playing our best starting at the opening faceoff.”

Sorabella also highlighted how the Cards had more energy on Friday night than they did on Saturday, in part because of the large crowd present in the first game.

“In the Friday night game we were able to feed off some energy from the crowd and rally back,” Sorabella said. “Against Bowdoin we found ourselves down early and were never able to sustain pressure in key moments during the game.”

Next up, the Cards will look to rebound from the tough weekend as they wrap up their regular season with a home-and-away series, facing Trinity College at home on Friday night and again on the road on Saturday. Because the Bantams currently sit one position above Wesleyan in the NESCAC standings, these games will determine the playoff seedings.

Sorabella believes the key to bouncing back will be to forget about this past weekend and continue to play a complete game of confident hockey from start to finish.

“We have put the loss against Bowdoin on the back burner and are preparing for Trinity,” Sorabella said. “It is important that we come out against Trinity with confidence and play the best version of Wesleyan hockey. We truly believe that when we’re playing at our best we are hard to beat, regardless of the opponent. It’s up to us to prepare mentally and to bring the right energy to the rink. Great comebacks are memorable, but playing our best for 60 minutes is a better formula for sustained success.”

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu. 

The men’s hockey team’s winning streak has been extended to five games as they defeated Williams and Middlebury on Feb. 6 and Albertus Magnus College on Feb. 8. As a result, the team now has a record of 10–8–2 and 8–4–2 in NESCAC play. This latest stretch of games began with a 3–0 shutout win over Williams after the Cards lost to them 6–1 earlier in the season. 

Up against the Ephs, the Cards were able to get on the board first in the second period as forward Go Uemura ’23 scored his third goal of the season to put them up 1–0. The Red and Black then doubled their lead just two minutes later when defender Jake Lachance ’23 scored his second goal of the season to give the Cardinals a two-goal lead heading into the second intermission. In the third, the Wesleyan defense and goalie Marc Smith ’24 did not let Williams get on the scoreboard, and the Red and Black added an empty-net goal from Tyler Levine ’22 late in the period to cement the victory. Offensively, the Cards put up 18 shots, and in goal, Smith was stellar as he stopped all 24 Williams shots to secure the shutout. 

Following the win over the Ephs, the Cards took on Middlebury on the road, whom they defeated by a score of 5–2 to sweep the season series. The Red and Black got off to a fast start against the Panthers as they scored three first-period goals to take a 3–0 lead heading into the first intermission. Forward Wiggle Kerbrat ’23 got the scoring started under 10 minutes into the game. His goal was followed by a second goal from Alex Giummo ’23 just two minutes later. This gave them a two-goal advantage before Matt Zandi ’21 MA ’22 added the third Cardinal goal on the power play toward the end of the period.

In the second period, Middlebury answered with two goals of their own to trail Wesleyan by one after two periods. However, the Red and Black were able to restore their three-goal advantage in the third on goals from Owen Sweet ’25 and Kerbrat, who scored his second goal of the game on an empty net to close out the 5–2 win. Wesleyan’s team was efficient as it scored five goals on 17 shots, and Smith had another strong game in goal as he stopped 30 of 32 Panther shots. Because of his efforts in goal across the two NESCAC wins, Smith was named NESCAC Player of the Week.

After the huge conference weekend on the road, the Cardinals returned home for their final non-conference game of the season as they took on and beat Albertus Magnus College with a score of 5–1. Against the Falcons, the Cards struck first once again as Kerbrat scored yet another goal just six minutes into the game. Lachance followed that up with a goal of his own in the final minute of the first, with Wesleyan holding the 2–0 lead heading into the second period. The beginning of the second period transpired just like the first as Wesleyan scored another quick goal in the early part of the frame courtesy of Sweet to go up 3–0. Albertus Magnus responded with a goal of its own to cut the lead to 3–1 before Emmet Powell ’23 scored to restore the Red and Black’s three-goal advantage heading into the third. In the third, Wesleyan added a fifth goal as Stevie O’Connor ’22 scored on the power play a little over three minutes in to round out the scoring in a 5–2 victory. As a team, Wesleyan scored three power play goals and outshot the Falcons 40–22, and goalie Erik Voloshin ’24 made 24 saves in the victory. 

Overall, coach Chris Potter was happy with how the team looked across the three games.

“I thought we played hard and we executed a little better,” Potter said. “We have definitely improved in the defensive zone over the past three weeks. Lastly, goaltending and special teams were good.”

Smith echoed these thoughts about the team’s effort.

“When there is a group of guys in front of you that buys into everything we work on, it leads to success,” Smith wrote in a message to The Argus. “We’ve proven that over the last three games.”

In particular, Smith highlighted the team’s focus and and attention to detail as key reasons for its victory against Williams after having lost to the Ephs in their first meeting.

“Going over X’s and O’s always helps before a game like that,” Smith wrote. “However, the true focus was on us…playing our game, and playing it hard. What happened in the past was out of our control. However, the way we approached the second game was not. We were on a mission, we were confident, and it showed.”

Next up, the Cards look to extend this winning streak even further as they take on Colby on Feb. 11 and then Bowdoin the next day. Both games will be played at home. Smith says the key to continued success is to just keep playing their game at a high level.

“Games are close in this league and you have to give every team the same respect,” Smith wrote. “Therefore, the key for this weekend is no different than any other: play hard Wesleyan hockey. However, attention to detail in our game is vital. With the season winding down, it only gets harder to win from here. The smallest details can make the biggest differences. That being said, I am excited for our group to battle it out.”

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu. 

This past weekend, the men’s hockey team snapped their five-game losing streak in the conference (six games overall). Their back-to-back wins over Hamilton College and Little Three rival Amherst College increased their record to 7–8–2 (6–4–2 in NESCAC play).

Coming into these two games the team had been struggling offensively, having scored just six goals total in their five previous NESCAC games. However, the Cards found a spark against the Continentals, winning by a score of 3–1. The Red and Black got on the board first as Emmet Powell ’23 scored his fifth goal of the season to give the Cards a 1–0 advantage. The Cardinals doubled the advantage just three minutes later as Uri Lurie ’24 scored the first goal of his career. The Cards then added a third goal thirty seconds after Lurie’s when Owen Sweet ’25 scored with just three and half minutes to go in the period. After Wesleyan’s offensive outburst in the first period, neither team scored again until the third period, when Hamilton was finally able to cut Wesleyan’s lead to 3–1. Following the goal, the Red and Black shut down the Continentals’ offensive attack and were able to close out the victory. On the stat sheet, the Cards outshot Hamilton 35–29 and goaltender Marc Smith ’24 made 28 saves.

Following the win the Cards then took on Amherst, who they defeated 3–2 in comeback fashion. Against the Mammoths Wesleyan fell behind 2–0 after the first period. However, they responded with a goal in the second period from Kyle Anderson ’24 and cut the lead in half heading into the final period. In the third period the Cards tied the game up with Powell’s sixth goal of the season just over seven minutes in, then took the lead three minutes later as Danny Sorabella ’22 scored his first goal of the season. The Red and Black’s defense kept Amherst off the board for the rest of the game and secured the season sweep over the Mammoths. For the game, Wesleyan outshot Amherst 27–22 and Smith stopped 20 shots in goal.

Overall, Coach Chris Potter was pleased with the team’s performance.

“We have been playing better,” Potter said. “We continue to play with more detail to our game. I think we have improved our play away from the puck, which has helped our offense.”

Potter highlighted the team’s increased attention to detail in all facets of the game as the main key to their victories over the weekend.

“I think the number one key was the details in our game,” Potter said. “We talked a lot about execution and how important it is to create scoring chances. Every game is close in our league so it really puts an emphasis on ‘everything you do matters.’”

Next up, the Cards hit the road to take on Williams before heading up to Middlebury to take on the Panthers. Going forward, the Red and Black hope to continue their strong play as they look to sweep the season series with Middlebury and even it up against Williams, who they lost to 6–1 in January. Potter is optimistic that the two wins last weekend will help the team’s belief that they can play and win any game in the future as they get closer to the playoffs.

“I hope the two wins on the road on that trip will bring confidence to our team,” Potter said. “Being down 2–0 to Amherst on the road and battling back to win 3–2 was a good testament to something we always talk about as a team in that you can never be too high about yourself in a game and, in the same vein, never too low. I think our discipline, intensity, and execution need to be improving every week so we are ready for the playoffs, where you may not have an opportunity to fix the mistakes the next day.”

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu

The women’s soccer team’s historic run at the NCAA Tournament ended in the Final Four with a tough 1–0 defeat to first-ranked The College of New Jersey (TCNJ).

Against the Lions, the Cardinals got off to a strong start in the first half as they outshot TCNJ 11–3.  However, the first half remained scoreless as Wesleyan could not convert any of their offensive chances. TCNJ was denied a goal on their best scoring opportunity of the half when Cards midfielder Isabelle Martin ’23 cleared a ball off the goalline that had gotten behind goalie Sarah Hammond ’23.

Just under 20 minutes into the second half, TCNJ came out as the stronger team and got on the board first. Facing a deficit for the first time during the tournament, the Red and Black fought hard to try to tie the game up, but they were unable to as TCNJ closed out the 1–0 victory. The Cards ended up being outshot 15–14, with Grace Devanny ’23 and Emily Ribatt ’21 MA ’22 leading the way with three shots apiece. In goal for Wesleyan, Hammond made two saves. 

Overall, Martin was happy with the team’s performance despite the tough loss. 

“I think we played well and fought hard,” Martin wrote in a message to The Argus. “In my opinion we were the better team and controlled most of the game but we just weren’t able to get one in the back of the net. We battled until the end and overall I’m proud of our effort.”

Even though they came up short of a national title, Martin emphasized positive aspects to reflect on from this run to the Final Four.

“I think one of the biggest things we can take away from our final four run is confidence in our abilities,” Martin wrote. “We know we can play with any team in the country and we need to bring that belief in ourselves into the upcoming season.”

Coach Eva Meredith shared a similar sentiment.

“When you start to believe you are just as good as any team, winning starts to happen,” Coach Meredith wrote in a message to The Argus.

Overall, Wesleyan has a lot to be proud of this season. They finished with the most wins in their program history (18) and at their highest national ranking ever (4th) due to their first-ever Final Four appearance. Now, Coach Meredith is already thinking about what comes next. Looking ahead to next season, the majority of this year’s roster will return Red and Black as they look to build off of this historically successful season. 

“We need to have a productive off season with players getting more comfortable in the weight room to work on strength and explosiveness,” Meredith wrote. “We also need to continue to practice with a game mentality in mind. You play the way you practice, and this team has performed at a high level in practice day in and day out. That has translated into our high press, fast-paced style of play.”

Despite the tough loss, the players are optimistic about their next season and are ready to smash their records.

“I think we will use the disappointment of our loss in the Final Four as motivation,” Martin wrote. “We have lots of talent returning and the experience this year will fuel our desire to go even farther next year. We know that every game, starting with our first preseason scrimmage matters. Every time we step on the field we need to play with the confidence we have gained and look to achieve our goals one game at a time.”

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu.

For the first time in program history, the women’s soccer team has advanced to the Final Four after beating Johns Hopkins in the Sweet 16 and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the Elite Eight on Nov. 20 and 21, respectively.

Against second-ranked Johns Hopkins in the Sweet 16, Wesleyan was able to pull out a 2–1 victory. The game was a close one: The teams traded goals in the first half within minutes of another, with Emily Ribatt ’21 MA ’22 scoring in the 20th minute to put the Cards up 1–0 before the Blue Jays tied it up just five minutes later. The game remained tied at one for the rest of the first half. In the second half, Wesleyan pulled ahead for good when Remi Feurman ’22 scored her second game-winning goal of the tournament in the 48th minute. The Red and Black then were able to hang on for the 2–1 victory, as the defense shut down the Johns Hopkins offense for the rest of the game. The Cardinals and Blue Jays tied in shots with 11, and in goal, Sarah Hammond ’22 made five saves in the victory. 

After defeating Hopkins, the Cardinals advanced to play eighth-ranked MIT in the Elite Eight, where they were able to top the Engineers 2–1 in overtime to advance to the Final Four. The Red and Black scored first, just as they have done in every game in the tournament to this point. Grace Devanny ’23 notched the opening goal for the Red and Black, scoring just over two minutes in the game to give the Cards the early advantage. However, MIT tied it up at one in the 26th minute, leaving the score knotted at the half. Coming back from the break, neither team found a way to earn the tie-breaking goal. The Cards defense and Hammond withstood ten shots by the Engineers to keep the game tied at one at the end of regulation. As a result, the game went into overtime, where Devanny scored just thirty-five seconds in to send the 14th-ranked Cards to the Final Four.  On the stat sheet, Wesleyan was outshot 15–5, and Hammond made seven key saves in the victory. 

Coach Eva Meredith said she is ecstatic to be heading to the Final Four for the first time in team history. 

“It is an amazing feeling and this team is so deserving after all the hard work they have put in, especially over the past few years,” Meredith wrote in a message to The Argus. “It’s true that hard work and dedication pay off.”  

In particular, Meredith highlighted the team’s resilience as being crucial to their success in a variety of challenging situations this season.

“They are the most resilient group I have ever coached,” Meredith wrote. “They bounce back from adversity and keep fighting until the end in every game. They now fully believe they can beat anyone and even to come back and win from being a goal down.”

Devanny agreed with Meredith, highlighting the team’s confidence and belief as being key in the game against MIT.

“MIT is a very good team,” Devanny wrote in a message to The Argus. “So I think we knew we needed to take advantage of our chances near goal and to continue to play to our strengths as a team.”

Next up, the Cards will take on The College of New Jersey in the semifinals on Friday, Dec. 3, in Greensboro, N.C. The Cards have their work cut out for them; they will need to beat the Lions, the number-one ranked team in the country, for the right to move on to the National Championship Game against either Loras College or Christopher Newport University.

Devanny says the key to victory is to remain focused on the task at hand. 

“I think we just need to keep each other motivated,” Devanny wrote. “Every team that is left in the tournament is talented, so it will come down to what team wants it more and who can take advantage of the chances they get. We are all just super excited to get down to NC and have fun.”

Meredith echoed these sentiments, adding that the team will need to approach their upcoming game with confidence. 

“The key to us being successful in the Final Four is continuing to play our game and trust that we belong here,” Meredith said. “We have already won by having this amazing season but I know this group wants more. Not every athlete or coach gets to experience a Final Four in their careers, so we are going to give it our all and enjoy the journey.”

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu.  

The women’s soccer team’s historic season continues as it advances to the Sweet Sixteen NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. Last week, the Cards beat Penn State Behrend and Stevens Institute of Technology at home in the first two rounds, earning a bid to the next stage of competition.

In the first half against Penn State Behrend, Wesleyan started off strong. The team nearly went up 1–0 just under two minutes into the game when Audrey Lavey ’23 hit the crossbar with a header from an excellent pass from Grace Devanny ’23. This pressure continued throughout the first half as Wesleyan registered eight shots but could not find the back of the net before halftime.

In the second half, the Red and Black were finally able to get on the board in the 50th minute when Remi Feuerman ’22 scored her second goal of the season off of a pass from Dani Milovanov ’23, earning Wes a 1–0 lead. That lead was enough to propel the Cardinals to their first-ever NCAA tournament victory, as they kept the Lions’ offense off the scoreboard for the rest of the game. On the stat sheet, the Red and Black dominated, outshooting Penn State Behrend 21–8. Goalie Sarah Hammond ’22 made four saves in the win.

Wesleyan then took on Stevens in the second round, a matchup that ended in a victory by an identical margin of 1–0. Like the previous game, the Cardinals had the majority of chances in the first half, but could not find a way to put the ball past the Ducks’ keeper. As a result, both teams went into halftime scoreless. In the second half, the Red and Black once again put major pressure on the Ducks’ defense as they looked for the opening goal, but took until the 81st minute for them to score as Lavey scored the game-winner on a deflection in the 18-yard box. Despite the close scoreline, Wesleyan was once again the more aggressive offensive of the two teams, outshooting Stevens 19–10 while Hammond only had to make three saves.

Overall, midfielder Andi Wiley ’22 said she was happy with the team’s performance in the two victories.

“It was a hard-fought weekend in our first NCAA appearance,” Wiley wrote in a message to The Argus. “Our defense came through big. We had a lot of great chances on offense and plan to work on finishing this week in practice to capitalize on those opportunities this upcoming weekend. Overall, I am very proud of everyone on our team and we are very excited to head to Boston to compete again.”

Midfielder Isabelle Martin ’23 highlighted the team’s tenacity on the field.

“I think the key for us in both games was our resilience and sticking to our game plan,” Martin said. “We had some great chances on goal that didn’t go in early in the games so we had to keep pushing and doing what we have done all season to get the job done.”

Next up, the Cards take on second-ranked Johns Hopkins in the Sweet 16 at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge on Saturday, Nov. 20. The winner of that game will take on either Carnegie Mellon or MIT on Sunday for the right to go to the Final Four in Greensboro, NC in two weeks. Hopkins is coming off a win against Little Three rival Amherst in the second round, so this will be a tough test for the Red and Black.

Martin says that the key to victory for the Cards this weekend is to play with conviction and believe that they can compete with any team, no matter the ranking.

“I think we need to come into this weekend confident in our abilities as a team,” she said. “It is exciting to have made it this far and now we have to believe that we can compete with any team in this tournament. We have confidence in each other and know that if we trust in our game we will be successful.”

David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu.