Cards Edge Closer to Initial Win of 2009-10 But Come up Just Short of Visiting UMass Boston, 5-3

jreynolds09

Moving ever closer to an elusive first win of the 2009-10 campaign, Wesleyan held a 2-1 lead over visiting UMass Boston for about 11 minutes in a contest Sat., Dec. 5. But the Beacons tied the game on a goal at 7:52 of the second period while two Cardinals were serving penalties, and added another power-play goal 1:39 later before the expiration of the second penalty. It proved to be the difference in the contest as UMB prevailed, 5-3, with the final goal scored on an empty net with 21 seconds to play.

Leading the Cardinal attack with a pair of goals was Jill Reynolds '12 (#24, photo), as she tied the game with a nifty backhander at 12:35 of the first period and cut the gap to 4-3 at 3:11 of the third period by poking in a loose puck in the crease. Wesleyan's second goal, coming at 16:41 of the first, was a product of Becca Koppel's '13 blast from the left point. Both Koppel and Reynolds now have two goals on the year.

After yielding an average of 57 shots a game over their opening four contests, the Cardinals held UMB to just 24 while firing 30 shots on net themselves. Keeper Ashleigh Corvi '13 made the stop on 19 scoring bids while giving up four goals.

The Cardinals were on the road for their next game Tues., Dec. 8, taking on NESCAC rival Trinity. Trinity outshot Wesleyan, 53-20, and had a 4-0 lead before the game was 11 minutes old en route to a 7-0 victory. Corvi picked up 46 saves in the contest.

Wesleyan closed out the first semester by hosting Neumann in a non-conference matchup Sat., Dec. 12. Neumann extended its record vs. Wesleyan to 5-0 with a 6-1 win. Wesleyan held the Knights off the board in the first period, but the visitors struck twice in the second stanza and lit the lamp four times in the third period, three of those coming on the power-play during a five-minute Wesleyan penalty. Reynolds netted her third goal of the year midway through the final stanza to get the Cardinals on the board with a powerful slap shot.

Reserve goalie Nicole Bonneau '13 spelled starter Corvi for the final 14:28 and posted 12 saves while allowing just one power-play marker. Corvi had 29 stops during her time in the net.

Wesleyan is off until Tues., Jan. 5 when the team takes on St. Michael's for the first time in program history.