BOX SCORE

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - Wesleyan's Sarah Orkin scored the game-winning goal with 59 seconds to play, giving the host Cardinals a 9-8 win over Bowdoin in both team's season-opener on Saturday afternoon.

Elizabeth Clegg had a hat trick for Bowdoin in her first career contest, while Katy Dissinger had two goals and an assist.

Orkin's shot nipped the lower left side of Bowdoin senior keeper Steph Collins-Finn (15 saves) and trickled into the net to give Wesleyan the lead for the fourth time in the contest. Wesleyan had broken ties of 2-2, 5-5, and 7-7 in taking leads while Bowdoin led 1-0 and 2-1 but could could no better than come back to tie the game three times thereafter. It was just the third time in the last 19 meetings between the teams that the Cardinals have prevailed. Wesleyan also won the last time the squads did battle in Middletown during the 2007 season, 10-8 in overtime, breaking a 13-game skid vs. Bowdoin at the time. Bowdoin leads the overall series, 22-10-1.

While Orkin scored her second goal of the game in posting the game-winner, junior Charlotte Hastings was the big gun for the Cardinals with four goals on the day. She scored twice in each half in rapid succession to give Wesleyan its largest leads of the contest at 4-2 and 7-5. Neither team led by more than two goals in the contest. Her goal with 16:28 remaining in the second period gave Wesleyan its last two-goal cushion. She had scored on a free-position shot just 33 seconds earlier. Bowdoin responded with the second goal of the game by both sophomore Ingrid Oelschlager and freshman Elizabeth Clegg to knot the score at 7-7 with 9:13 to go. Junior Erin McCarthy regained the lead for Wesleyan with her free-position marker at the 7:33 mark before Clegg finished off her hat trick with 5:47 showing on the clock to make it an 8-8 game.

Wesleyan possessed the ball much of the next 4:30 minutes before Orkin started a run to the middle but was fouled. She then netted the third free-position tally of the game for the Cardinals in nine attempts. Bowdoin went 0-for-5 in free-position shots as Wesleyan freshman goalie Maggie Drowica stopped three of them en route to her 18 saves in the game. One other was wide while another hit the post.

Bowdoin controlled the draw following the final goal as junior Becca Austin collected the ball. Senior Lindsay McNamara eventually worked in from the left side and fired a shot from in close but it, too, rang off the near post.

Wesleyan senior Laura D'Iorio scooped up the ground ball and Wesleyan called timeout with :19 showing on the game clock. D'Iorio started with the ball and ran past the Bowdoin defense on the right side, all the way behind the Polar Bear net to run out the closing seconds and seal the win.