Despite the sweltering heat and blinding sunlight, the Wellesley Blue won its second game of the season, a 7-0 victory against Gordon’s Fighting Scots, who a have 2-3 record.
For the first few minutes of the game, the Blue put the Fighting Scots on the defensive. Soon afterwards, Hannah Flesch ’16 passed to Courtney Peterson ’17, who netted the ball to cheers of “C’mon, Welles!” and “Here we go, Blue!”
Wellesley scored three more goals within five minutes of play. Nathalie Gruet ’15 opened the trifecta with an assist from Lallie Lukens ’15. Alex Azzi ’15 continued the onslaught with help from Anissa Sridhar ’16, and Nikki Sharkin ’17 capped off the triad unassisted. A few minutes later, Azzi scored her second goal unassisted.
Coach Julia King and co-captains Gruet and Meghan Peterson ’15 maintain that there was no specific moment in the game that decisively shifted the momentum in favor of the Wellesley Blue. They agreed that the five goals scored during the first half of the game played a key role in boosting the team’s confidence and maintaining its cohesiveness.
The Blue entered the second half with a comfortable 5-0 lead and capitalized on their advantage by adding two more goals to the scoreboard. Mary Lemay ’17 put one up for the home team with an assist from Peterson. Flesch scored the final goal with help from Emmy Hamilton ’18.
At the game’s close a few minutes later, the Blue ran toward goalkeeper Lucy Hurlock ’17 and exchanged high fives and praise. Hurlock had her second start this season and helped limit Gordon College to zero shots on net. In the season opener, Wellesley allowed one shot from New England College.
The field hockey team started its season after winning last year’s NEWMAC President’s Cup. Unlike many teams that suffer a dip in performance after winning a championship, the Blue have maintained a high level of performance.
“We’re always trying to separate last year from this year and [view] this year’s three new players as part of a whole new group that needs to be built together,” King said.
King also attributes the Blue’s success to the fact that many of the team’s players contribute to goals and are members of the lacrosse team.
Wellesley returns to the field later today at home against Wesleyan at 4:30 p.m.