MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The No. 14 ranked Wesleyan women's soccer team passed another test and kept their winning streak intact as the Cardinals scored three times in the first half, which proved enough to withstand a late charge from Bowdoin in a 3-2 home win on Saturday afternoon. Wesleyan (5-0, 3-0 NESCAC) continues its second-best start to a season in program history while Bowdoin (4-3, 0-3 NESCAC) remains winless in league play.
Grace Devanny '23 extended her point streak to three games, recording two assists in the 3-2 win over Bowdoin
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Both sides were on the front foot in the early going as Wesleyan and Bowdoin generated seven combined shots (four on-goal) in the opening 16+ minutes
- All that early pressure led to the game's first goal in the 19th minute as Andrea Chiappetti '24 flicked a through ball to Grace Devanny '23 who one-touched past a sprawling Bowdoin keeper Alex Arndt who came well off her line to try and grab the ball. Devanny then composed herself and sent a cross to the far post for Audrey Lavey '23 who beat her defender to the ball and scored to make it 1-0 Cardinals
- Just 2:10 later, Lavey netted her second as Remi Feuerman '22 had all sorts of the in the midfield, ultimately spotting Devanny on the left wing. As Devanny corralled the pass, she belted a left-footed cross over Arndt's outstretched arms to Lavey at the opposite post who got enough of the ball to fire in another goal
- The third goal of the first half came in the 30th minute as Isa Quintana cut the Wesleyan lead to 2-1 as she converted a great passing sequence as Aine Lawlor sent a pass to Jade Cromwell who whipped a cross to Quintana running at the near post. Quintana made enough contact to deflect the hard, low cross inside the far post for the Polar Bears' first goal
- Just moments after Andi Wiley '22 hit the crossbar, the Cardinals answered right back in the 44th minute as Wiley sent a ball to Julia Meehan '20, P'22 who lofted a cross into the Bowdoin box. The ball then caromed off a Polar Bear defender's head right to Kate Hausladen '23 who's shot found the back of the net, making it 3-1 Cardinals at the halftime break
- Bowdoin again cut the lead down to one, as Jamie Lau corralled a Lynn Farquhar cross at the far post, taking one touch and finishing with her right foot as the Polar Bears made it a game again with over 26 minutes remaining
- Even with the Lau goal, Wesleyan did not falter down the stretch, as the Cardinals relied on their defense and held Bowdoin to just one shot on-target in that final 26+ minute stretch to ultimately close out another win to start the season
Cheyanne Ollie '23 was a driving force behind Wesleyan's defensive dominance late to close out the win
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- This high-octane offensive affair saw the two sides combined for 29 shots as Wesleyan amassed 16 (8 on-target) compared to 13 (7 on-target) fro Bowdoin
- Lavey's brace gives her a team-leading three goals in 2021 as the junior tallied her second career multi-goal game (two goals at Coast Guard, Sept. 25, 2019)
- Hausladen scored for the second straight game while this goes down as her eighth career score and second career game-winner
- Devanny's two assists gives her a team-leading three on the season while her first career multi-assist game ups her point streak to three games
- Chiappetti's assist is the first of her Cardinal career
- Meehan recorded her first point of 2021 with the primary assist on Hausladen's 44th minute game-winner
- Wiley's assist on Hausladen's goal puts her in a tie with Devanny for the team-lead in assists with three on the season
- Sarah Hammond '22 made five key saves in the win, moving to 5-0 on the season in net for the Cardinals
UP NEXT:
The Cardinals take their unbeaten record on the road for a massive Tuesday night game at Tufts (4-1, 2-0 NESCAC) who are coming off a 6-0 domination at Colby on Saturday afternoon.
