MIDDLETOWN, CT – On a rainy afternoon at Smith Field, the No. 13 ranked Wesleyan women's soccer was able to put enough together to pull out a thrilling victory over Bowdoin as the Cardinals came-from-behind with two second half goals to win 2-1. A physical game from start to finish, the Cardinals used two second half goals including the game winner from Emily Ribatt '21, P'22 in the 75^th minute from well outside the box. With the win the Cardinals move to 13-1-1 overall and advance to play in the NESCAC semifinals next weekend. With the loss, Bowdoin ends their season 8-7-1.
 
HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wesleyan was on the front foot in the opening minutes, as Audrey Lavey '23 ripped a shot from the top of the box that just missed the goal just wide. Isabelle Martin '23 followed that up with the Cardinals' first shot on-goal, which was corralled by Bowdoin's Penny Rocchio two minutes later.
• It appeared as though Wesleyan had all the momentum for the first 17 minutes of this one, producing two shots on-target (three total) and numerous crossing attempts. However, Bowdoin was the first to strike. Julia Adelmann sent a through ball to Aine Lawlor who centered to Morgan Smiley who initially hit the post before putting it through off her own rebound.
• The Cardinals responded with five more shot attempts (three on-goal) to end the half but were turned away by the Polar Bear defense keeping the score at 1-0 going into halftime.
• Wesleyan kept the pressure on to start the second half, producing two corner kicks and three shots leading up to the 64^th minute. There they produced their third corner of the half which was taken by Dani Milovanov '23. The lofted ball into the box went to the opposite post where Grace Devanny '23 jumped and headed the ball into the top right corner of the net, knotting the game at 1-1.

 

• Over the next 10 minutes, it appeared as though the Cards were going to find a way to win the game. They manufactured another three shots and a corner kick, keeping the ball on Bowdoin's half of the field. Then in the 75^th minute a freshly subbed-in Emily Ribatt blasted a shot from in front of the Cardinals bench right over the outstretched arms of the keeper. The game winner from distance was her first goal of the season and was assisted by Caty Clements '25 and Katie O'Connell '25.

 

• Bowdoin had a hard push in the final 10 minutes but were not able to put through the equalizer. Their best scoring opportunity coming in the 81^st minute when Rachael Peacock attempted to one-time a shot from just outside the box, but was blocked by Cardinal defenders

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Devanny scored her ninth goal of the season, moving her into the top five on the NESCAC goal leaderboard
• Ribatt's game winner was her first goal this year and the 8^th of her career
• Wesleyan outshot Bowdoin 18-6 (11-2 shots on-target), while also having the advantage in corners 5-0
• Wesleyan is now 9-32-4 against Bowdoin, but have won their last four matchups
• This marks the 13th victory for Wesleyan this season, establishing a new single-season program record which previously stood at 12 from the 1994 team that went 12-4-1 on their way to winning the ECAC New England Division III Championship

UP NEXT:
Wesleyan will travel to Amherst, Massachusetts to face off against 3^rd seeded Hamilton for a spot in the NESCAC championship game. The Continentals advanced to the semifinals by defeating #6 Tufts 1-0 at home. In their regular season matchup, the Cardinals beat the Continentals 3-0 on Senior Day at Jackson Field.