The Cardinal football team traveled to Trinity on Saturday hoping to improve its record to 4-4 and finish at or above .500 for just the third time since 2003. They looked well on their way to doing so after falling behind 13-0 in the first quarter and coming back to take a 20-13 lead midway through the third. But Trinity came back itself to tie the game at 20 apiece and force overtime, and outlasted Wesleyan in two overtime sessions to win 26-23 and finish second in the NESCAC with a 6-2 record. Wesleyan dropped to 3-5, good enough for a tie for sixth place in the conference.

Wesleyan struggled to contain the Bantams in the first quarter, as Trinity scored touchdowns on its first two drives. But starting in the second, the Cardinals held Trinity scoreless for a 37-minute span and scored three touchdowns of their own. Two of them came on TD passes by QB Blake DuBois ’12 in the second quarter, the first to Pete Madera ’11, and the other to Dave Brunelli ’12. Both scores were set up by special teams pouncing on the Bantams in the punting game. The first came after Matt Maloney ’11 blocked a Trinity punt and recovered it himself at the Bantam 32-yard line, and the second came following Trevor Rhodes’ ’12 recovery of a punt muffed by Trinity, 11 yards from the end zone.

On the opening kickoff of the second half, Joe Byous ’12 forced a fumble by the Trinity returner and recovered the ball at the Bantams’ 26-yard line. Though the Cardinals failed to capitalize on that drive, their defense pinned Trinity near its own goal line and forced a punt that allowed Wes to start in Trinity territory on the next possession. They finally scored on a fourth-and-goal run by Shea Dwyer ’10 for the Cardinals’ third straight touchdown. Each kicker had missed one of his extra point tries, making the score 20-13 as the third quarter ended. Finally, in the fourth quarter, Trinity got back on the board after a 49-yard pass set up a rushing touchdown from inside the five-yard line. Neither team could score again, and the game went to overtime.

While Trinity had first possession Wesleyan performed admirably on defense, holding the Bantams to a 28-yard field goal. When the Cardinals got the ball, they had no more success than Trinity, with Matt Alexander ’12 converting the first field goal of his career in a pressure-packed situation. This set up a second overtime period, in which things went quickly downhill for Wesleyan, as DuBois’ pass of the series was intercepted in the end zone. The defense again did an excellent job, making three stops for no gain, but again, Trinity converted on its field-goal try, this one a 42-yarder for the win.

A win would have made Wesleyan the first team to win at Trinity in 35 games; the Bantams have not lost in Hartford since Week 2 of 2001. It also would have ended Trinity’s win streak against the Cardinals, which has now extended to 10 games.

The loss was a bitter end to a promising season for the Cardinals, who improved their record by two games from last season’s 1-7 struggle. In addition, the team lost two games in overtime by a combined six points, which meant they were that close to being 5-3.