Wesleyan University

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Marley Procopio '29 deflected in a goal less than three minutes into play which proved to be the difference in the end as the No. 11 Wesleyan field hockey team prevailed in a 1-0 win over Vassar on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals (2-0) record their second straight road shutout win to start the season as Keira O'Flynn '29 made five saves to record her first career win.
 
The Cardinals hemmed the ball in the Vassar defensive end right from the opening whistle, generating three penalty corners in the opening 2:30 of the game, ultimately finding the net on the third opportunity. Natalie Shaw '28 inserted on the corner and the ball came to Emily Smith '29 who took a shot towards traffic in front of the cage. Procopio was the one who landed a stick on the pass, deflecting the ball past Kendra Pitts in goal to put Wesleyan up 1-0 just 2:34 into play.
 
Wesleyan went on to outshoot Vassar 5-1 in the first quarter and generated a 6-1 edge in penalty corners, but couldn't add to their lead. The script flipped in the second quarter where Vassar outshot Wesleyan 4-1, but only one of those four attempts landed on-target which was turned aside by O'Flynn to keep the Cardinals out in front 1-0 at halftime.
 
The Cardinals put plenty of pressure on the Brewers in the third quarter, totaling eight shots to just one for the hosts, but just two of those eight attempts were on-goal and it remained a one-goal game heading into the fourth.
 
In that final quarter, Vassar had two shots on-goal in the frame, but O'Flynn was up to the task on both. The Brewers pulled their goalie for an extra field player with just over three minutes remaining, but the Cardinals held Vassar without a shot over the final minutes to secure the 1-0 win.
 
Procopio's goal is the second of her career, both of which went down as the game-winning goal as Procopio's first career tally came in a 1-0 road win over Williams last season. Wesleyan outshot Vassar 16-8 in the contest but the Brewers held a 5-4 edge in shots on-goal. Wesleyan held a 10-5 advantage in penalty corners.
 
Next up for the Cardinals is a trip to Roger Williams on Tuesday for a 6:30 PM non-conference meeting.