Box Score MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The No. 12 ranked Wesleyan field hockey team held their own throughout a rain-soaked and cold Sunday afternoon tilt, but fell short in a 1-0 defeat to No. 2 Middlebury on Hicks Field. The Cardinals (7-4, 3-4 NESCAC) see their two-game win streak snapped while the Panthers (9-2, 6-1 NESCAC) bounce back after falling to No. 1 Tufts on Saturday.
 
An uneventful first quarter saw just one attempted shot before a second quarter that featured seven Middlebury shot attempts, only two of which hit the frame. Middlebury had a sequence with five penalty corners in a 44-second span, but the Cardinal defense came up with multiple blocks to keep the game scoreless.
 
Middlebury very nearly had the opening goal midway through the second quarter when Megan Fuqua sent a blast at the top of the circle on a penalty corner that hit the pads of Keira O'Flynn '29 then Marley Procopio '29 lowered her stick to redirect the shot away from a defensive save.
 
Wesleyan's first shot attempt in the game came 43 seconds into the third quarter when Leila Feldman '28 cut to her right and fired a shot that goalie Madeline DiLemme kicked aside.
 
The Panthers broke the deadlock with 7:31 left in the third quarter as Emma McCann inserted to the stick stop Tessa Herbst at the top of the circle. Ally Kennedy then stepped into a blast that snuck inside the left post.
 
The Cardinals pressurized all throughout the fourth quarter, generating a 5-0 edge in penalty corners, but the Cardinals couldn't find the equalizer with the best chance coming on a Feldman shot that a Panther defender blocked with her stick before DiLemme cleared the ball away with her blocker.
 
Middlebury held an 11-5 edge in shots (8-0 in the first half) and 9-7 advantage in penalty corners. O'Flynn made three saves in goal for the Cardinals.
 
Wesleyan is back in action on Saturday with a Noon start against Little Three rival Williams.