NORTON, Mass. – The Wesleyan field hockey team earned a 2-0 road win at Wheaton on Thursday night. A second straight win for the Cardinals moves Wesleyan to 3-0 in non-conference games and evens their record at 4-4 on the season while the Lyons drop their third straight, falling to 4-5 overall in 2021.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• On a chilly weekday evening, Wesleyan came out fired up to play and notched the first goal in the 6^th minute, scoring on their first penalty corner of the game. Ava Galdenzi '24 inserted to the top of the circle and the ball swung to Leah Ewers '23 on the right wing. The midfielder drove a pass towards the center of the Wheaton defense, finding the stick of Diana Schwarz '23 who deflected in her team-leading sixth-goal of the season
• After staving off the Lyons' first corner attempt just two minutes later, the lone shot for either side came from Lois Schwarz '23 before the horn sounded for the end of the first quarter
• Wesleyan dominated all facets of the second quarter, outshooting Wheaton 5-0 and drawing two penalty corners compared to 0 for the Lyons but the score remained 1-0 at the half
• After three straight penalty corners without a goal, Wesleyan was able to cash in just four minutes into the third quarter as Galdenzi again inserted to the top, swinging to the right again where Melanie Lim '24 received the pass. Looking far post, her seeing-eye pass found the stick of Galdenzi who made no mistake, finding the back of the cage to make it 2-0
• Now trailing by two, Wheaton sustained their first extended series of possession for the game, two penalty corners and four shots (one on-target) in the final 11+ minutes of the quarter but also came away goalless as the Cardinals held their 2-0 lead heading into the fourth
• In the final quarter, it played much like the second as Wesleyan dominated in shots (6-1) and penalty corners (5-1) but neither side found the back of the net which proved enough for a 2-0 Wesleyan victory

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• The stats reflect how much the Cardinals controlled play as Wesleyan owned a 15-5 edge in shots, 8-1 in shots on-goal and 10-4 advantage in penalty corners
• Diana Schwarz now has six goals for the season, matching her entire 2019 season total as a first-year, while she now has three goals in the last two games
• Galdenzi put one home to give her three goals for the season, second-most on the team
• Both Ewers and Lim tallied their first career assist in tonight's win
• Kylie Nelson-Marois '24 was the goalkeeper of-record, earning her second straight win, while Caitlin Grant '22 subbed in at the start of the second quarter and made one save. Athena Vadnal '25 then entered with five minutes left, making her first career appearance for Wesleyan
• The Cardinals are now 18-11-2 all-time and have won the last five consecutive meetings against the Lyons

UP NEXT:
Wesleyan has some time to rest and recuperate, enjoying the weekend bye as the Cardinals are back in action next Thursday with a non-league road game at Babson (6 PM start).