Men’s soccer came away from the weekend with mixed results, shutting out the Colby College White Mules 1-0 in an away game on Saturday before losing 3-2 in heartbreaking fashion at home to the Western New England College Golden Bears on Sunday.

Following their 2-1 victory over Springfield College on Wednesday, the Cardinals jumped on the scoreboard early for the second straight game with a seventh minute goal off a rebound by tri-captain defenseman Jacob Mergendoller ’11. Mergendoller’s shot tipped off a Colby defender and slipped past the diving goalie’s fingers and into the left side of the net.

That would be all the scoring from either side for the afternoon, as Wesleyan rolled to a 1-0 victory thanks to a stellar effort by the defense, including Mergendoller at center back. Colby managed just five shots, only two of which were on goal. However, the Redbirds’ struggle to convert on the offensive side of things continued.

The Cards managed just one goal off of 11 shots, five of which were on net. Furthermore, while the White Mules are fielding an undoubtedly stronger squad than they did last sea The Cards managed just one goal off of 11 shots, five of which were on net. Furthermore, while the White Mules are fielding an undoubtedly stronger squad than they did last season, the narrow margin of Wesleyan’s win was notable considering they upended Colby by scores of 4-1 and 5-0 in 2009.

“We didn’t connect as well as we could have, but it was a good sign that we could get a win playing less than our best,” forward Noah Schlesinger ’13 said. In spite of their struggles, Wesleyan’s away victory against a conference competitor gave them reason to be in good spirits heading into Sunday’s homecoming against Western New England College.

The Cardinals got off to an auspicious start against the Golden Bears. Wesleyan scored within seven minutes for the third consecutive game, as Steve Paresi ’12 crossed a corner kick that was knocked in by midfielder Chris Keuhn ’13 at 6:24. Paresi registered yet another assist in the 14th minute as midfielder Rory O’Neill ’13 headed a Paresi free kick over the WNEC goalie for an early 2-0 lead.

However, the Golden Bears battled back quickly, scoring a pair of goals within the first half to even things up at 2-2 and to set the stage for a back and forth second half.

While Wesleyan did an excellent job in general controlling the ball and creating attack opportunities in their front field, WNEC staged a few drives that resulted in some close calls for the Cardinals. Then, in the 89th minute, Wesleyan committed a foul right in front of their 18-yard box.

The last time Wesleyan faced WNEC was November 15, 2009 in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs. The contest, which was also at home, ended with the Cards advancing to the Sweet 16 after downing the Golden Bears in two rounds of penalty kick shootouts thanks in part to a clutch diving stop by goaltender Adam Purdy ’13.

Unfortunately for the Redbirds, this time it was the Bears’ turn to leave the field in elation. WNEC midfielder Alex Dos Santos ’11 launched the direct kick in the air on the left side of the net. Purdy made a diving stop, but this time the ball continued to roll forward and across the goal line.

After the weekend’s action, the Cardinals’ record stands at 1-1 within NESCAC and 2-2 overall. Stay tuned as they challenge Tufts on the road next Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and try to establish a winning record in both categories.