SCRANTON, Pa. – While all good things must come to an end, the Wesleyan women's soccer team had high hopes that it would not be their season in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Facing the University of Scranton for the first time in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, Wesleyan suffered their second loss of the season in a 2-0 shutout at Scranton's Weiss Field.

After a high rolling victory the night before over SUNY Brockport, the Cardinals returned to Weiss Field to face the 18-1-2 Royals who had home field advantage. The first 45 minutes swayed in the Cardinals' favor, but it was evident that Scranton, who had only allowed one goal in 10 games, was not going to lay down. As the minutes dwindled down towards halftime, the Royals began to press at the midfield and were able to maintain control of the ball. Any quality scoring opportunities on either side were few and far between. The Cardinals' attack was driven by Katie O'Connell '25 and Meredith Feiner '28 down the stretch.

The Royals upped the ante in the second half, playing several minutes at a time in the Cardinals own zone. Molly Brumbach '26 came up with a mighty save in the 32^nd minute, making a jump save on a high ball while colliding with a Royal attempting to head the ball over the goal line. Throwing out four shots in a row paid off for the Royals who were the first to reach the scoreboard. With the Royals pressing inside the box, Morgan Griffin was left unattended out above and rocked a low shot between the right post and Brumbach's fingers as the junior goalkeeper dove into the corner.

Gabby Freeman '28 need be mentioned for a heroic block that came in the seventh minute with the Royals once again moving the attack. Freeman broke up a cross pass making its way inside the box from Claire Mulholland at the top left corner, chasing her man down to beat Brumbach to the ball. Without the ball settled and cleared, the Royals regained and regrouped back on the near side, Niamh Healy's shot flying over the head of Brumbach. Deflected off the tip of Brumbach's gloves, the ball fell over the line in the opposite corner.

O'Connell, Waverly Meyers '26, and Stefanie Stoj '26 all recorded shots on Nicole Olson but were unable to exploit any further scoring chances. The defensive core of Caty Clements '25, Sheridan Snow '28, and Zoey Fagnan '27 dominated the back line with 90 minutes of playing time, allowing six shots on goal with the help of Brianna Garcia '28 up and down the near line. O'Connell ends her season as the points leader with 19, scoring five goals and assisting on nine. Clements, logging 1,467 minutes in 2024, scored two game-winning goals on penalty kicks.

Relieved by Juliette Vemmer '25 with five minutes to spare in regulation, Brumbach made four saves for the Cardinals. Brumbach finishes the season with a career-high 14-12-3 overall record, recording 60 saves with a .845 save percentage and 11 goals against. Olsen completed two saves for the Royals.

Finishing the season 14-2-3 overall and 7-0-3 in the NESCAC, head coach Eva Meredith shuts the door on her 21^st season as the head of the Cardinals with a standing 132-136-48 overall record. Meredith was honored with her second NESCAC Coaching Staff of the Year award while coaching six All-NESCAC selections including Snow as Rookie of the Year and Brumbach as Defensive Player of the Year. O'Connell leaves Wesleyan with 38 points in 69 games, scoring 12 goals and 14 assists. Clements clocks in her final minute with 5,539 career minutes through 77 games, scoring three goals and three assists.