The College of Wooster women's soccer team played in the blistering heat on Wednesday but still managed to open their season on a winning note, defeating Chatham University, 2-1, in their first game on the newly renovated Carl Dale Field.

Familiar faces found the back of the net between senior Bella Crompton and junior Josie Bencic.
 
After a scoreless first half, Crompton broke through for the game's first goal in the 50th minute, finding an open target thanks to the assist from junior Annie Henegar.
 
Bencic, the team's leading scorer a year ago, later scored in the 79th minute after a lead pass from junior Emma Fischer, finding Bencic wide open near the top of the box. With just the keeper in front of her, Bencic curved her shot into the upper left corner of the goal for the Scots to take a 2-0 lead.
 
Chatham (0-1) did not go down without a fight, answering one of the goals minutes later in the 83rd minute. Wooster had trouble clearing the ball after a goal kick and Alaina Gould took advantage of Wooster's misstep for her first goal of the year.
 
Wooster (1-0) kept Chatham out of the scoring column for the rest of the game to secure the win. The Scots outshot the Cougars 15-8, but the Cougars kept pace in the second half staying within two of shots (8-6).
 
Senior Lucy Carlin played all 90 minutes in goal, making three saves in the win. Her counterpart, Kyanni Escuderomade two saves.
 
This was only the second meeting between the two programs. The teams fought to a 2-2 tie in 2023.
 
The Scots return to play Sunday when they host Fredonia State University.