MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – After playing to a 1-1 deadlock at the halftime break, the No. 12 ranked Wesleyan field hockey team scored four unanswered goals in a second half surge that sent the Cardinals past Union for a 5-2 win on Wednesday night from Hicks Field. Wesleyan (7-2) completes their 2024 non-conference regular season slate with a perfect 5-0 record while the Chargers (6-4) lose for the second straight game to a ranked opponent.
 
In what has been the theme of the season for Wesleyan, four different Cardinals scored in this one with Georgia Adams '26 representing the lone multi-goal scorer. Sydney Cameron '26 dished out two assists for her first career multi-assist game and her first points of 2024 while Sydney Atwood '25 posted an assist for her first career point in the victory.
 
After more than seven minutes elapsed without a shot attempt, Atwood found Sarah Porter '27 in transition who made one defender miss before winding up for a shot from just inside the arc that found its way past Union goalkeeper Sophie Brady for the opening goal.
 
Union struck back just under a minute into the second quarter as Maddie Greco slid home her 10^th goal of the season, sneaking one past Audrey Pace '26 and inside the left post.
 
Coming out of halftime, the Cardinals didn't take long to shift into high gear as three penalty corners in a matter of 94 seconds culminated in Imani Ochieng '25 controlling a pass from Cameron and deflecting home the go-ahead goal on her backhand with the ball in mid-air at the midway point in the quarter.
 
The Cardinal pressure continued and after Porter was denied in transition by Brady, Cameron caught the Union defense napping on a quick restart just outside the arc. She passed to Adams just feet from the goal line and the junior forward had time to sweep home her first goal of the night to make it 3-1 Wesleyan.
 
Ochieng nearly made it 4-1 but the umpire blew his whistle as Ochieng's shot attempt off a penalty corner was saved off the goal line by the leg of a Union defender. Awarded a penalty stroke, Kenzie Mauro '27 stepped up to the circle and beat Brady inside the right post for her third goal of the season.
 
Wesleyan completed a 4-0 scoring run with another goal just 51 seconds following Mauro's marker. After Adams was fouled deep in the Union defensive end, the junior forward kept pushing forward before halting and dribbling back away from cage but not outside the arc. With her back to goal, Adams wound up firing a shot on-target that caught the Charger defense by surprise and ended up hitting the back of the cage.
 
The Cardinals had multiple chances to extend their lead as the fourth quarter went along, attempting seven shots and generating six penalty corners in the stanza, but Union kept the margin at four before finding a late goal from Rachel Ostiguy to account for the 5-2 final score.
 
Pace made two saves in 50 minutes of action in goal before departing for Athena Vadnal '25 who played six minutes and then Caroline Chung '28 entered for the final four minutes and the first-year, making four saves in quick succession.
 
Wesleyan is back in action on the weekend with a trip to No. 13 Amherst on Saturday in a game that begins at Noon.