MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Trailing 2-1 at halftime on Senior Day, the No. 11 ranked Wesleyan field hockey team came storming back with three unanswered goals in the second half to defeat No. 8 Bowdoin by a score of 4-2 on Saturday afternoon from Hicks Field. A fifth straight NESCAC win, four of which coming against ranked opponents, moves the Cardinals to 9-3 overall and 5-3 in league play while the Polar Bears fall to 9-4 and 5-3 in conference.
 
The five-game win streak in NESCAC play is tied for the longest such streak in team history as the only other Wesleyan team to win five straight NESCAC games was back in 2000.
 
After honoring it's eight-member Class of 2026 prior to the game, the Cardinals gave the home crowd something to cheer about within the first five minutes of play. Kiernan McColgan '26 inserted a Bowdoin transition pass in the Polar Bears' defensive end and hit Meera Patel '29 with a through ball towards the end line. Patel tracked down the ball and centered to Georgia Adams '26 who managed to get a stick on a pass that was hit with pace, redirecting in the opening goal.
 
Bowdoin answered back with two goals in less than four minutes early in the second quarter. The first goal came off a penalty corner as Emily Ferguson redirected a shot from Maddie Mrva just inside the circle. Then with 5:27 elapsed in the second quarter. Katie Athanasoulas knocked in the go-ahead goal at the far post to make it 2-1 Bowdoin at the half.
 
Undeterred by the halftime deficit, Wesleyan worked some penalty corner magic early in the third quarter to tie the score. Inserting to Sydney Cameron '26, the senior midfielder slid a pass on the right wing for Emily Smith '29 who dove headfirst to get a stick on the ball, sending it back towards the far post where the inserter Adams had an easy tap-in goal to knot the score at 2-2.
 
Later in the third quarter, Audrey Pace '26 came up with a huge denial on Hannah Balmelli on a penalty corner to keep the score tied. After Pace dealt with a shot Ferguson shot from close range, the ball kicked out to Balmelli who corralled the loose ball and quickly shot on what looked like an open cage but Pace came diving in and made a crucial save with her right pad.
 
That Pace save proved crucial as the Cardinals knocked in the go-ahead goal with 8:58 remaining in regulation. Off another penalty corner, the insert came to Smith on the right wing who hit Brooke Miner '28 on the left. Miner had some time to line up her shot and the sophomore made no mistake, lifting a shot up and over Bowdoin goalie Lauren O'Donald to send the Cardinals back out in front on Miner's first goal of the season.
 
As the game progressed, Wesleyan was not content with the one-goal lead, drawing three penalty corners in a span of 15 seconds before breaking through with an insurance marker. Leila Feldman '28 had her reverse sweep shot attempt saved by O'Donald but the rebound was loose in front and Smith got a stick on it, passing back to Patel who nudged a shot up and over the stick of a Bowdoin defender to make it 4-2 Wesleyan with 5:54 left.
 
The Cardinals went on to finish off the game without allowing Bowdoin to attempt a shot in the fourth quarter, securing the 4-2 win and sliding into four-way tie for third place in the league standings.
 
The two-goal game for Adams is her 10^th career multi-goal performance. Smith, the reigning NFHCA Div. III National Offensive Player of the Week, dished out assists on all three second half goals to become just the third Cardinal since 2011 to record three assists in a game.
 
Pace finished with four saves but none bigger than the diving stop in the third quarter in what was a tied game.
 
Wesleyan heads back on the road for two games this upcoming week, wrapping up non-conference play with a Wednesday night showdown at Western New England.