Entering Saturday’s Little Three showdown with Amherst, Wesleyan boasted an eight-game winning streak, representing a remarkable turnaround after a 0-4 start to the season. The Lord Jeffs, who were celebrating their homecoming on Saturday, entered the contest on an even more impressive streak than the Cards, holding an undefeated 11-0 record (7-0 NESCAC) and a top-two national ranking. Wesleyan fell behind 1-0 in the second half before responding with two goals of their own to shock the Lord Jeffs and send them to their first loss of the season, with a 2-1 triumph.

Kyle Nuland ’09 scored the game-winning goal in the 86th minute when he controlled a rebound in the box and stuck it into the top corner from in-close to put the Cards in front for good. The forward offered his thoughts on the team’s resilience in coming back during the second half from a 1-0 deficit and knocking off the undefeated hosts.

“The biggest factor in winning the game was our confidence in ourselves and the attitude that resulted,” Nuland said. “This confidence manifested itself in better ball retention and more urgency in our play. The fact that we were able to overcome the 1-0 deficit to win 2-1 really speaks to not only our team’s mental toughness, but also our depth.”

The depth that Nuland mentioned has been vital for the Cards’ success all season, not only in substituting fresh attackers but also in their dual-senior goaltender rotation that has propelled the squad to a team-record ninth straight victory.

Jamie Hiteshew ’08 started and played 90 minutes, allowing one goal and making six crucial saves en route to his fifth victory of the season in six starts, three of them coming by way of shutouts.

Ross Pemmerl ’08, a senior tri-captain for the Cards, has great confidence in whichever of his classmates are anchoring the defense behind him.

“Both [Matt] Gnall [’08] and Hiteshew are playing really well,” Pemmerl said. “It is always nice to have a good keeper behind you to help erase mistakes, but in our case we very well might have the two best keepers in the league.”

The Cards appeared a little flat in the first half. Hiteshew made two huge saves to keep the game scoreless, and the back four continuously refused any offensive prowess from the Lord Jeffs.

Amherst scored first in the second half when Taylor Downs chipped the ball over Hiteshew, who was left stranded off of his line when the ball did not bounce forward into his box as a result of muddy field conditions. The goal came in the 52nd minute, 14 minutes before Wesleyan’s Ethan Robinson ’11 scored his first collegiate goal to tie the score at one. Matt Nevin ’09 sent a long cross from the left wing to the backpost where Robinson waited and headed it into the net to deadlock the score.

The game appeared headed for a draw until the 86th minute, when sloppy play from Amherst in their box resulted with Nuland’s winning goal. The Cards thwarted all of the Lord Jeff’s final attempts to salvage their undefeated season, including two consecutive corner kicks in the final seconds, and held on for an impressive 2-1 victory.

“The win was a true team effort with everyone playing their hearts out and battling to the end,” Nuland said.

With the win, the Cardinals now have a 5-3 record in the NESCAC and control their own destiny in their attempt to host an opening round NESCAC tournament game. Wesleyan will finish off its regular season schedule this coming Saturday, Oct. 27, when the team travels north to face Bowdoin College in a 1:30 p.m. game.

The NESCAC tournament will commence the following day with the opponent and location of the game contingent upon the results of the Wesleyan vs. Bowdoin and the Middlebury vs. Tufts contests. Wesleyan and Bowdoin enter Saturday’s game as the only two teams left that can finish fourth in the conference, and thus earn the fourth and final opening-round home game.

There remains a good chance that Wesleyan and Bowdoin will play each other twice this weekend. If the match-ups work out that way, the situation will resemble the 2005 NESCAC tournament, a tournament the Cardinals went on to win.