MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Another day, another Wesleyan women's soccer shutout as the No. 4 nationally-ranked Cardinals defeated Colby, 3-0, in the NESCAC-opening weekend on Saturday from Jackson Field. After defeating Coast Guard 2-0 on Tuesday, Wesleyan (2-0, 1-0 NESCAC) has scored five goals and allowed none after the first week of the season.
A very productive start to this game saw the Cardinals play the role of aggressor in the midfield, holding Colby without a shot attempt until the 26
th minute. As the pressure mounted, the Cardinals finally broke through in the 31
st minute as a corner kick from
Audrey Lavey '23 swooped in and beat Colby's keeper Emily McMaster who had to deal with all sorts of traffic in front of goal.
Just under five minutes later, Wesleyan added a second on a well-worked goal that began at the far end with a lofted goal kick from
Sarah Hammond '22. The ball fell to
Danielle Soto '23 who flicked on to
Catherine Gallagher '26. Gallagher bodied her defender well and laid a pass on to
Dani Milovanov '23 who had some speed going to her right. Taking one dribble, Milovanov fired a shot from just outside the box that went between a Mule defender's legs and inside the left post.
Catherine Gallagher '26 in midfield with the ball
As the Cardinal defense continued to control the game, an insurance goal came late as the ball was punched out by goalkeeper
Molly Brumbach '26 off a Colby corner onto the feet of
Stefanie Stoj '26. Stoj then sent a sweeping through ball with her left foot to the feet of
Grace Devanny '23 who only had one defender left to beat. Knowing she had time and space, Devanny easily sprinted onto the ball, past the Colby defender and her right-footed shot from just inside the box went above the stretched arms of McMaster to make it 3-0 Cardinals in the 71
st minute.
Stefanie Stoj '26 in possession of the ball in the second half
As the horn sounded, Wesleyan secured a fourth win over Colby in their last five appearances while the Cardinals have now not allowed the Mules to score a goal in 538 consecutive minutes.
Lavey and Milovanov eached scored their first of the season while Devanny now has two goals and five points through two games. Stoj and Gallagher each tallied their first career assists.
Hammand made one save in her 45 minutes of action as Brumbach came on to save two saves in 36 minutes. Hammond also secured the victory, moving her career record to 30-10-5 in 47 career appearances for the Cardinals.
Wesleyan next welcomes annual NESCAC power Tufts for a Tuesday afternoon tilt, with the two sides set to meet at 4:30 PM from Jackson Field.
