CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Simply stunning. That's what this season has been and what the game-winning goal was for the Wesleyan women's soccer team as
Grace Devanny's incredible goal just 35 seconds into overtime sent the Cardinals off to the Final Four in what is the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
Devanny had already scored a wonder goal in opening minutes as she took a touch, racing past the MIT defense and chipping the game's first goal over the scrambling goalkeeper. But the OT winner was of true class as the 2021 NESCAC Player of the Year, received a pass in the attacking end and with a defender on her back, she dribbled down the wing until she was 10 feet or so from the end line. With the goalkeeper guarding her near post, Devanny chipped a shot high over the outstretched arm of Ava Gillikin and into the back of the net. As the ball touched the netting, the host MIT was left stunned while was met by a swarm of Cardinals celebrating their Elite 8 victory.
Showing true resolve, with no national tournament experience heading into this season, the No. 14 ranked Cardinals (18-1-2), incredibly, are off to their first-ever Final Four following today's 2-1 Elite 8 overtime win over No. 8 MIT (22-2-1) in Cambridge. Awaiting the Cardinals in the National Semifinal (Final 4) is No. 1 TCNJ (The College of New Jersey) who come in having just beaten No. 3 William Smith 1-0 in Scranton. The Lions (20-0-2) are heading to their 13
th Final Four appearance, winning the national title three times (1993, 1994, 2000) in program history. The first-ever meeting between the two teams is slated for Friday, December 3 at 1:45 PM from Greensboro, North Carolina on the campus of UNC Greensboro.
This marks the sixth time over the past four years (seventh time overall) in the history of Wesleyan Athletics that a Cardinal team sport is competing in a national semifinal. The 2021 women's soccer team joins Wesleyan baseball (1994), men's lacrosse (2017, 2018), women's lacrosse (2019) and women's tennis (2019, 2021) as the fifth different program to advance to a Final 4.
The Cardinals celebrated a monumental win postgame in front of a strong Wesleyan contingent on-hand
Devanny's goal in the 3
rd minute of play snapped a four-game point-less streak, just after the junior had rattled off a program record six-game point streak in the six games prior. The NESCAC Player of the Year, as she often does, made something out of nothing as she managed to dribble through and past two Engineer defenders. Then with Gillikin coming well off her line to challenge, Devanny waited for the keeper to dive to the ground as she adeptly chipped the ball over the lunging player and in to give Wesleyan a lead just 2:17 into play.
Grace Devanny's chipped shot which found the back of the net in the 3rd minute of play
Play settled down for a bit but not for long as this time it was Rowlett making a show-stopping strike as the forward received a lofted pass with her knee. As she bounced the ball from one leg to the other, she eventually settled the ball on the turf with her left foot. Moving to her left, she stopped and turned to her preferred right foot. Giving the Cardinal defense little time to react, she whipped a perfectly placed right-footed loft shot into the opposite corner as MIT tied the score in the 17
th minute.
After two stunning strikes, the game settled down for the reminder of the first half as just three shots were attempted (all off-target) in the remaining 28+ minutes as the score remained 1-1 at the break.
Sarah Hammond '21, G'22 was tested early and often in the second half as the Cardinal keeper made easy work of three MIT shots on-target in a span of under two minutes early in the second half before the save of the game in the 76
th minute. Ashley English wound up from nearly 30 yards out and with the ball heading for goal just below the crossbar, Hammond timed her jump perfectly and nudged the ball which hit the crossbar and bounced back down right in front of the senior goalkeeper.
Sarah Hammond '22 coming through with one of her seven saves in the match
That Hammond save proved immense as the Cardinals were outshot 10-1 in the second half while MIT also generated three corner kicks compared to none for Wesleyan.
After conceding possession for most of the second half, Wesleyan pressured MIT into a very early turnover in the extra session as
Melissa Wilhelm '22 intercepted an errant pass which Devanny ran onto heading into the final attacking third. All the junior forward needed was two touches as her lofted shot from a difficult angle was placed perfectly over Gillikin who dove full-stretch but was nowhere near the ball as the Cardinals finished off a resounding 2-1 win just 35 seconds into overtime.
For the match, Wesleyan was outshot for just the second time in 21 games this season as Hammond came up big with her seven saves, finishing just one off her season-high. Devanny pumped in two goals for her second multi-goal game of the season and sixth of her career as the junior has 22 goals in 36 career games.
Wesleyan has just under two weeks to rest up and prepare for the Final Four round which will commence on Friday, December 3 at 1:45 PM in Greensboro against TCNJ.
