MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Just one day removed from suffering a heartbreaking double overtime loss to No. 8 Amherst, the Wesleyan field hockey team showed great resilience with a dominating 4-1 win on Sunday over Roger Williams from Smith Field. Wesleyan (5-6) improves to 4-1 on the season and 7-0 all-time against the Hawks (6-5).
HIGHLIGHTS:
- It was all-Wesleyan in the first quarter, with the Cardinals generating seven penalty corners and seven shots in the opening 15 minutes but just one of those seven shots landed on-goal while the Hawks kept the game scoreless
- That early sustained pressure continued into the second and the Cardinals were finally able to break through as Myla Stovall '22 had a couple of point-blank shot attempts saved before a rebound fell to Diana Schwarz '23 who spun around to her backhand and flicked home her seventh goal of the season to make it 1-0 in the 19th minute
- Opportunities to add to the lead were abound as the Cardinals fired six more shots and drew three more penalty corners but were unable to cash in as the score remained 1-0 at the half
- After playing 30 minutes without a shot attempt, Roger Williams executed a successful counterattack as Hannah Palmer possessed at midfield and sent a long through ball to Morgan Foley who saw her first shot attempt saved but the rebound was fired home for the equalizing tally
- Roger Williams missed the go-ahead goal by a few feet just minutes later on their first penalty corner as Hannah Gaffney missed wide
- After missing on their first 10 penalty corners, Wesleyan finally made the Hawks pay as Helen Deretchin inserted to Melanie Lim '24 who set up a straight shot which was hit with some pace that the Hawk defense couldn't react to in time as the Cardinals answered and went back out front
- Just under a minute later, drawing another penalty corner, it was a near identical play as Deretchin inserted to Lim who shot intentionally wide and found the stick of Deretchin who's deflection found the back of the cage
- Olivia Baglieri '22 stonewalled the Hawks on an early fourth quarter penalty corner as Hannah Gaffney and Ella Waryas were both denied by defensive saves from Baglieri, the second of which the senior stuck her stick out to the right that nudged the shot enough that the ball hit the right post
- An insurance marker in the 54th minute sealed the Wesleyan victory as Schwarz made a fantastic individual play, taking the ball outside the circle, beating a couple Hawk defenders and lifting a shot off the ground from just inside the circle that beat the keeper and made it 4-1 Wesleyan
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Wesleyan's 14 penalty corners are a new season-high, eclipsing the previous-best of 10 (accomplished three times)
- Wesleyan tallied 22 shots compared to 11 for Roger Williams which is the Cardinals' second-highest single-game total for the 2021 season
- Schwarz scored twice to give her eight goals on the year while this is her third multi-goal game of the season and the fourth of her career
- Lim continues her hot streak as she posted one goal and one assist for a three-point game, extending her point streak to four straight games
- Deretchin posted her first career three-point game as she tallied one goal and one assist
- Stovall was credited with the assist on Schwarz's first goal of the game, giving her three on the season which is a single-season career-high and tied for second-most on the team
- Making just her second career appearance, Athena Vadnal '25 played the entire second half, made three saves and picked up her first career victory in the cage
WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY:
Prior to the start of play, both Wesleyan and Roger Williams wore matching green shirts in honor of World Mental Health Day.
UP NEXT:
Wesleyan heads on the road for a crucial NESCAC weekend in Maine as the Cardinals take on Bates (Saturday – 12 PM) and Colby (Sunday – 12 PM).
