The sun was shining and fall foliage was in full splendor on the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 25, as Homecoming Weekend brought upwards of one thousand parents, alumni, and students to Jackson Field to watch Men’s Soccer take on Little Three rival Amherst. The fanfare mirrored the import of the match for the Wesleyan squad, as in the previous week of play they had advanced to eighth in the NESCAC standings – the last spot to make the league playoffs – ahead of Connecticut College and Bates. A win would have put Wesleyan in prime position to earn a postseason berth, but the Lord Jeffs had other ideas, edging the Cardinals by a score of 2-1.

Both teams exhibited tenacious defense in the first half, with Wesleyan failing to take a single shot while holding Amherst to only three shots of their own. Wesleyan goalie Adam Purdy ’13 made several saves, including a full extension with 90 seconds remaining to stop a shot heading toward the upper-right corner—preserving the 0-0 tie heading into halftime.

The game remained scoreless until the 64^th minute, when Wesleyan midfielder Rory O’Neill ’13 electrified the crowd by depositing a header from forward Evan Hazelett ’13 over the diving Amherst goalie. However, less than a minute later Amherst defender Alejandro Sucre ’13 controlled a cross before rocketing the ball into the Wesleyan net, tying things up and sucking the wind out of the home fans. Ten minutes later, Spencer Noon ’13 fired another shot past Purdy, who had been drawn out of net in pursuit of a loose Amherst pass in the Wesleyan box. That was all the scoring for the afternoon, as the Lord Jeffs bore down and held on for the victory.

At one point during the second half, a fight almost erupted in Amherst’s penalty box. What started with a scuffle between a Cardinal and the Amherst goalie erupted into both teams shoving each other. Refs ran over to hold the players apart and the game continued.

To the further chagrin of the Cards, Bates and Connecticut College won upset victories that same afternoon, bumping Wesleyan back to 10^th place in the standings. However, the Cardinals still have a chance of making the postseason. If they beat Connecticut College this Saturday and Amherst (4) beats Trinity (9) or Colby (7) beats Bates (8), Wesleyan will finish the regular season as the eighth seed, the last to qualify for the playoffs. Come out to Jackson Field this Friday to support the Cards in their last home game of the season in hopes of seeing them on their way to greater things.