Cards Battle Little Three Rival Amherst Down to the Wire, Drop the NESCAC Contest in Overtime, 10-9

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With a 3-2 mark against non-conference opponents, Wesleyan fell prey to another nationally ranked NESCAC foe, this time Little Three rival Amherst on the road Sat., April 24. After storming back from a 9-6 deficit with three goals in the final 10 minutes to force the game into overtime, the Cardinals were held scoreless over the six minutes of extra play while the Lord Jeffs scored once to claim a 10-9 triumph. All of Wesleyan's NESCAC losses this year are to teams which are or have been ranked nationally. Amherst held the #19 spot to start the week.

Erin McCarthy '10 (#22, photo insert lower right), Jess Chukwu '11 (#23, photo insert upper left) and Catherine Taibi '13 (#6, main photo) each scored their second goal of the game in the latter stages of action to bring about overtime. Taibi got the tying goal with 1:42 remaining in regulation. She is tied for the lead among the newcomers in scoring this year with 17 goals, matched by Lydia Kring '13. In an average game, five of the Cardinals' starters are freshmen. Chukwu is tops on the team overall with 28 goals while McCarthy is second with 21. Allie Lynch '11 added two more assists to improve her seasonal school record figure to 36.

In the Cardinal net, Maggie Drowica '12 stopped half of the 20 shots on goal by the Lord Jeffs. Wesleyan outshot its host by a 30-22 margin.

The Cardinals bring the season to a close Fri., April 30, hosting Conn. College. Wesleyan has been eliminated from NESCAC playoff contention but the Camels still have a shot at the #8 seed with a victory. Wesleyan hopes to play the spoiler role in the season finale.

(photos courtesy of SteveMcLaughlinPhotography.com)