Set to make their first all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, the No. 13 ranked history-making Wesleyan field hockey team will be host to No. 22 Ithaca on Wednesday at 4 PM in the First Round of the national postseason tournament. The Cardinals (11-5) are playing Ithaca (15-5) for the first time in team history while Wesleyan's brand-new AstroTurf surface Hicks Field will serve as a proper venue for the team's first-ever national postseason game.
 
Tickets are free to the first 100 students in-attendance at the game. Everyone else will need to pay $5 per person, cash only at the field. The exception are children ages 2 and under, who will be able to attend free of charge.
 
Enjoying one of, if not the best season in program history, Wesleyan received an at-large bid into the 2024 NCAA Tournament after winning 11 games in the regular season which is the winningest regular season in team history. Among the 11 wins includes a 5-1 home win over NESCAC runner-up Bates, a 2-1 home victory over NESCAC Champion Tufts, as well as the team's first win at Trinity since 2005 and first road win at Bowdoin since 1999. After going 11-4 in the regular season, earning their first NESCAC Tournament home playoff game since 2005, Wesleyan played Bates to a 1-1 tie through regulation and two overtime periods, but fell by the slimmest of margins through seven rounds of a penalty shootout.
 
Offense has been the calling card for Wesleyan throughout the year as the Cardinals have already achieved the highest-scoring single-season in team history. Wesleyan has scored 50 goals in 16 games, averaging more than three goals per game while being held scoreless just once this season. Depth scoring has been a major factor as 13 different Cardinals have scored at least once while 11 have at least two goals and nine have at least three tallies on the year. Junior forward Georgia Adams '26 leads the team in goals (12), assists (six), points (30), and shots (59) while senior midfielder Kenzie Kelly '25 is in the midst of a career-year with seven goals and 16 points and two more midfielders in Helen Deretchin '25 (four goals, five assists) and Kenzie Mauro '27 (four goals, three assists) both have double-digit point totals.
 
Two-time All-NESCAC First Teamer Imani Ochieng '25 leads the defense as Ochieng and the Wesleyan back line have allowed less than two goals per game in NESCAC play this year. Ochieng heads into Wednesday with an active streak of 49 straight starts while she has thrived as the right back for the Cardinals, playing a key role defensively as well as on the penalty corner unit which is producing goals at a near 20 percent clip in 2024.
 
Audrey Pace '26 has started all 16 games for Wesleyan in net this season, sporting a 1.57 goals against average in 878+ minutes played. She has 79 saves (4.9 per game) and a .775 save percentage this season. Pace was at her very best against Bates, posting eight saves in 80 minutes of play including several sprawling stops to keep her team in the game. She was named All-NESCAC, All-Region, and All-American last season and has the NESCAC Tournament record with 23 saves in last year's Quarterfinal contest at Williams.
 
Ithaca won the program's first-ever Liberty League title over the weekend, defeating Rochester 2-0 at home. The Bombers are making their second straight trip and 18^th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, sporting an all-time record of 13-16 in the tournament, winning the 1982 national title. Last year, Ithaca defeated Endicott in the first round and lost to national runner-up Johns Hopkins in the second round.
 
Ithaca enters the tournament as one of the hottest teams in the nation, having won nine straight games, having outscored their opponents 25-3 in that time. Defense has carried the Bombers all year, sporting the nation's 12^th-best goals against average (0.82) and having 10 shutouts in 20 games.
 
Natalie Descalso leads Ithaca with 20 points on seven goals and six assists this year. Juliana Valli was named the Liberty League Championship Most Outstanding Performer and paces the team with eight goals to go along with three assists for 19 points.
 
The defense is anchored by 2023 All-American Bella McCollister while the unit, along with goalie Maeve Clark, have allowed just 23 shots over eight of the past nine contests. Clark is 12-4 in goal with a 0.75 GAA and .800 save percentage in 966 minutes played.
 
The winning team advances to the second round where they will face Williams in Williamstown on Saturday, who received a first round bye in the NCAA Tournament.