The women’s lacrosse team lost Saturday afternoon on a late goal by Hamilton College’s Ashleigh Stephan. With only 5:50 left on the clock, Stephan received an assist from teammate Emily Brodsky to take an 8-7 lead. The Cardinals managed to regroup for a last-second attempt on goal, but a critical shot by Meredith Smith ’17 was blocked by the Continental goalie; the horn sounded a few seconds later, and Wesleyan’s comeback attempt came up short.

“I am proud of our effort on Saturday,” said Interim Head Coach of Women’s Lacrosse Amanda Belichick. “We stayed together and played hard. We created a lot of opportunities for ourselves and were able to control parts of the game which kept us in it.”

Eleven seconds into the game, Hannah Plappert ’16 immediately put the Cards on the board with an early 1-0 lead. The rest of the first half would consist of back-and-forth play between the squads as they each vied for control. Both Madeline Coulter ’14 and Martha Harding ’16 netted goals within the first 10 minutes of play, putting Wes ahead 3-2. After a tying goal by the Continentals with 13:13 remaining in the first half, neither side was able to take the lead as the halftime buzzer sounded with both teams even at three scores apiece.

Hamilton was the first to score during the second half, but Coulter quickly responded with a goal of her own, her second of the day, leveling the score once again. Looking to take a commanding lead, the Continentals strung together three consecutive goals to put themselves ahead 7-4. Nevertheless, the Cards would not be held down for long as they unleashed a scoring barrage of their own. With the help of Coulter, Harding, and Abby D’Angelo ’14, Wesleyan tied the game 7-7 with just over 12 minutes remaining. Yet it was Hamilton’s late goal that proved to be the most decisive of the match.

Despite the loss, there were plenty of highlights on Wesleyan’s side. Coulter netted her third career hat-trick, and the defense was also able to force 17 Hamilton turnovers. But those bright spots were overshadowed on Saturday by issues that will need to be resolved as the team moves forward. The offense was only able to put 59.1 percent of its shots on goal, and many of the 22 shots taken by the Cardinals did not translate onto the scoreboard as they also sported a low 31.8 shooting percentage at the end of the game. Moreover, the squad turned over the ball 19 times and occasionally lacked control of its possessions.

Another serious concern is Wesleyan’s defense, which allowed the Continentals to put an astounding 88.9 percent of their shots on goal. Netminder Nina Labovich ’16 was able to contain the issue with a respectable save percentage of .500. However, as the season continues, both the defense and offense will need to apply more pressure on opponents if the Cardinals wish to have their first winning season since 2007. Despite these early season errors, Belichick has confidence in her team moving forward.

“It was great to see everything come together and to see the hard work that the team has put in through the preseason and offseason,” Belichick said. “This is a great group of players, and I’m looking forward to watching us all grow and develop throughout the season.”

The team won just 1 of 10 conference games last season, compared to the 4-6 Hamilton squad, so this tight game can certainly be seen as a step in the right direction.

The women’s lacrosse team plays another home game on Smith Field this Wednesday against nonconference opponent Eastern Connecticut State University.