GREENSBORO, N.C. -- It certainly wasn’t the finish to the season that the Wesleyan University women’s soccer team was looking for, but it was quite an effort.
In the end, the 14th-ranked Cardinals came up a little short in a 1-0 loss to top-ranked The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in a Division 3 national semifinal at UNC Greensboro Soccer Stadium on Friday afternoon.
Senior Julia Obst headed in the game’s lone goal off a cross, as the shot tucked into the net just inside the far post in the 65th minute. That was enough for TCNJ (21-0-2) to punch a ticket to Saturday’s national championship match against Christopher Newport University (Newport News, Va.), which defeated Loras College, 1-0, in the other semifinal.
Two wins shy of a national title remains a strong outcome for a Wesleyan program that was playing in its first NCAA Tournament, let alone the Final Four for the first time. The Cardinals, who finished at 18-2-2, have plenty to be proud of.