MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – In a return to action following nearly 700 days without a game, the Wesleyan field hockey team wasted no time getting back into the swing of things as the Cardinals dominated Western New England to the tone of a 6-1 win on Wednesday night from Smith Field. The six goals for Wesleyan is the most for the Cardinals in a single-game since a 6-0 win over Eastern Conn. State in 2018. This also marks the fourth straight win for the Cardinals in a season opener.

There was little doubt of this result as Wesleyan took advantage of some early corners and played great defensively and in the midfield to limit the chances for the Golden Bears throughout. Olivia Baglieri '22 posted the first multi-goal game of her career as she either scored or assisted on the first three Wesleyan goals, finishing with a career-high five points (two goals, one assist). Ava Galdenzi '24 and Colleen Carrigan '22 each tallied two assists while Leah Ewers '23, Hannah Curtis '23, Melanie Lim '24 and Addie Defeo '24 all netted their first career goals in the win.
 
HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wesleyan set the tone early, limiting Western New England to just one shot attempt in the first half (0 in the first quarter)
• On the offensive end, an early corner resulted in the game's first goal as Baglieri received a feel from Galdenzi on the right and fired in a shot that went inside the near post for the tally just 6:28 into the game
• Just over two minutes later, Wesleyan converted another penalty corner as Baglieri inserted this time to Carrigan at the top who rifled in a shot that was deflected by Baglieri past the goalkeeper as Wesleyan led 2-0 early
• The third Cardinal goal of the half came off yet another corner as the ball deflected to Baglieri who centered to Ewers and the junior was there to fire in her second career goal to make it 3-0 Cardinals before the halftime break
• Coming out of half, the Golden Bears responded with their first real offensive chances of the game as their second penalty corner in the second half led to a goal form Taylor Klesyk as the deficit was cut to 3-1
• Looking to head into the fourth with momentum, Wesleyan broke out of their defensive end as Diana Schwarz carried all the way into the Western New England circle where she sent a crossing pass to Lim who was there for the finish as a key Cardinal goal built the lead back up to three with just 10 seconds left in the stanza
• Yet another Wesleyan goal came in the 50^th minute as Carrigan carried in from the right wing and spotted Defeo open in front of the cage. Carrigan's pass found the stick of Defeo who beat a scrambling Golden Bear defense to make it 5-1
• With one last corner, Wesleyan scored their fourth goal off a corner before time ran out as Ava Galdenzi inserted and then poked a pass from Lim that came from just inside the circle over to Curtis at the far post. The finish was a good one as Curtis had little time to react to the Galdenzi poke.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Wesleyan controlled the action throughout, owning a 13-6 shot advantage for the game including a 10-5 edge in shots on-target
• Penalty corners favored Wesleyan 10-2
• Nineteen Cardinals saw the field in the victory
• Caitlin Grant '22 made some key saves in the cage as she finished with four for the game, just one off her career-high, while recording her second career win

UP NEXT:
Wesleyan faces a tough challenge ahead as the Cardinals head on the road for a Saturday afternoon showdown at three-time defending national champion and No. 1 ranked Middlebury.