The #11 Middlebury women's soccer team (1-1-0, 0-1-0) dropped its home opener 2-0 to visiting Wesleyan (2-0-0, 1-0-0) on Saturday. The Panthers head to Wheaton (Mass.) on Sunday for a 1:00 p.m. start, while the Cardinals travel to Springfield on Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. contest. 
 
Wesleyan took advantage of a penalty kick at the 23:19 mark as Katie O'Connell buried the ball in the bottom left corner for the 1-0 edge. The visitors increased the lead with 29:59 expired when Melissa Wilhelm headed the ball to Saige Rovero who one timed it into the net to make it 2-0. Middlebury had its best chance of the half to cut into the Cardinal lead at the 31:11 mark, but Simone Ameer's blast to the top left corner was stifled by Wesleyan goaltender Sarah Hammond. 
 
Out of the break, the Panthers had a great chance to get on the scoreboard with 12:04 expired. Eliza Robinson sent a corner from the left side to Cate Wagner in the box, but a Cardinal defender blocked Wagner's shot. With 14:20 remaining, Robinson rifled a shot from the top of the box, but it hit the crossbar and ricocheted out of bounds. Middlebury's final chance to tally a goal came with just under five minutes remaining. Fannie Lodge headed a pass from Ellie Bavier at the top of the box, but a diving-Hammond denied the chance to preserve the shutout for Wesleyan. 
 
Sydney Poppinga made five saves in goal for the Panthers, while Hammond had four stops to earn the shutout. The Panthers held a 13-11 edge in shots, while the Cardinals had a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks.