Men’s soccer won its third consecutive game against Wheaton College last Tuesday thanks to a cross from Brandon Smith ’08 that was finished by Matt Nevin ’09. It was Nevin’s second goal of the year as Wesleyan ended its four game losing streak, beating Wheaton 1-0.
Number ten team in the region? No problem
The win was well-deserved, as Wesleyan played perhaps its best game of the season against one of its toughest opponents so far. Both teams created scoring opportunities throughout the game, but it was Wheaton keeper Matt Pachniuk who cracked first.
“Brandon opened up Wheaton’s defense, while Nevin came in front side and just exploded a shot on Wheaton’s keeper,” said Peter Glidden ’07.
The goal, which came in the 87th minute, was the result of a beautiful combined individual and team effort. The deft Smith found himself alone with a defender on the left flank then made a flashy move to beat him and crossed the ball to Nevin in the box. Nevin slid in front of his man, took one touch, and fired the ball past the keeper from about six yards out.
The game was a hard-fought battle between two teams hoping for spots in the NCAA tournament. Wheaton, which came into the game ranked tenth in New England by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, kept up the pressure for much of the game after Wesleyan dominated the first fifteen minutes of play.
But despite keeping the ball in the Cardinal side of the field for much of the first half, they were unable to test goaltender Matt Gnall ’08 very often. Credit the back four, yet again, for their ability to protect their goalie by absorbing attack after attack.
The defense has been playing without one of their original center men since Chris Keeler ’07 was injured in the game at Middlebury. They have come together over the loss of such an important presence by playing even more as a unit. The switch Jared Ashe ’07 made from forward to defender has definitely taken a great deal of pressure off the others.
“I’m just happy to do whatever it takes for our team to get to our goals,” Ashe said.
He has been doing just that. In the three games since Middlebury, the team has surrendered zero, one and zero goals, respectively.
“[David] Baharestani [’07] is such a solid player, he gives me a lot of confidence in what I’m doing,” Ashe said. “He communicates very well and has helped me adjust along with [Justin] Mello [’08] and [Alan] Ashenfelter [’09]. It feels better and better each game.”
In the second half, Wesleyan perseverance and intensity showed, as they dominated the last forty-five minutes. The midfield, including co-captains Noah Isaacs ’06 and Kevin Lohela ’06, as well as Peter Glidden ’07, and Josh Stephens ’07, were instrumental in thwarting Wheaton’s counter-attacks and controlling the pace of play.
Wesleyan tripled their shot total of the first half, firing 12 shots toward Pachniuk. Nevin led the team with four, three on goal, while Glidden contributed three and Lohela two. Altogether, they managed 16 shots to the Lyons’ 12.
Gnall made a critical save on a breakaway in the 60 minute to keep the score even at zero. The save upped Wesleyan’s intensity level, as they unleashed an outpouring of shots after that point. Wheaton was forced to clear the ball off its line three times within fifteen seconds during one span of the second half.
Even after Wesleyan scored, the Lyons did not back down. They put pressure on Gnall, as he was forced to make several saves to preserve the win. But the stifling defense in the backfield sealed the victory for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals hope to continue their success this Saturday, hosting Colby on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.