The men’s soccer team is in unfamiliar territory after dropping their third straight one goal defeat of the season, this time to Trinity College by the score of 1-0. Despite out-shooting the Bantams 16-10 in the contest, the Cards were unable to finish any of their opportunities, and have started the season 0-3 for the first time since 1958, when the team finished 0-9-1.

The first half saw the Cards pressure the Trinity defense consistently as they outshot the Bantams 8-4. Midway through the half it appeared the Cards had taken the lead when Austin Woolridge ’11 deflected a shot by Ross Pemmerl ’08 into the net. However, the referee, controversially ruled that Woolridge used his arm to redirect the ball. Minutes later, the Cards thought they had scored again when Trinity goalkeeper Spencer Derland mishandled a cross, but again, the referee whistled for a foul and the scored remained 0-0.

Jamie Hiteshew ’08 got his first start of the season in goal and performed admirably with two strong saves in the first half. The game’s lone goal came in the 53rd minute, when Trinity capitalized on a creative counterattack. Jonathan Hayes took a first-time pass from teammate Dan Kupper and got behind the Wesleyan defense. Hiteshew charged the breakaway, but just missed the shot as it trickled past his legs.

Wesleyan put a lot of pressure on the Trinity defense for the entire 90 minutes, earning 12 corner kicks as opposed to 1 for the Bantams. Late in the second half, trailing by one, Wesleyan had four corner kick opportunities in a row to try to tie the score. Unfortunately, none of the chances resulted in the tying goal, and the two-time defending NCAA participants find themselves in an early season hole, winless after their first three contests.

“Obviously, the team is frustrated with the results thus far,” Hiteshew said. “We are confident, however, that with a few defensive adjustments and a bit more confident finishing, we’ll turn the tide and make a run to the NESCAC playoffs.”

Wesleyan will have a week off to gather their energy before the next contest, a match up with NESCAC foe Middlebury College, who’s currently 2-0 in the league with wins over Connecticut College and Tufts. The game will be played this coming Saturday, Sept. 22 at 12 p.m. on Jackson Field.