(Corey Sobotka/Staff Photographer)
Continuing one of its strongest starts in recent history, the Wesleyan men’s soccer team spent the weekend taking out NESCAC opponents Williams and Hamilton on consecutive afternoons. The Cardinals improved their record to 5-0-1, increased their conference winning streak to five, and strengthened their grasp on first place within the league.
Saturday afternoon saw Wesleyan host longtime rival Williams in a highly anticipated match for both sides. While the Cardinals clung to a narrow first-place lead in the NESCAC standings with a 3-0 conference record, the Ephs, ranked 11th nationally, sat in second place with a similarly undefeated 2-0-1 record, eager to claim the top spot from the Redbirds. The last three contests between the squads had all gone into overtime with the following outcomes: a tie, a win for Williams, and a win for Wesleyan. That most recent result occurred at Williams in last year’s conference quarterfinals, a match that saw the Cards stun the Ephs 2-1 in a comeback, double-overtime victory. This time around, Wesleyan expected Williams to show up to Jackson Field hungry for revenge.
Yet the Cardinals would be the first to draw blood, scoring a mere 2:06 after the starting whistle. Forward Noah Schlesinger ’13 tracked down a ball deep on Williams’ right side, which he crossed back to forward Evan Hazelett ’13. Hazelett received the pass in the middle of the box and promptly blasted it past the Eph netminder for his second goal of the season.
The rest of the match saw Williams apply heavy pressure on offense, taking 17 shots in regulation time to Wesleyan’s five. However, a Cardinal back four consisting of co-captain Harrison Lewin ’12 and three interchanging substitutes responded with a stellar effort of their own and generally disrupted the Ephs’ momentum. In total, only six of Williams’ shots were on net, and Adam Purdy ’13 contributed five saves.
Efforts finally paid off for Williams in the 80th minute, as forward Dan Morrisroe controlled a loose ball from a long throw coming from the left. Morrisroe completed a cross to forward Matt Kastner, who headed the ball past Purdy for the equalizer that would push the game into overtime.
After 17 minutes of overtime had elapsed, it appeared as if the rivals would come to a stalemate. However, the Cardinals maintained their tenacity and forced a break. With just over two minutes to play, Lewin completed a long throw to Hazelett, who crossed the ball toward the left post. Midfielder Rory O’Neill ’13 reacted immediately to beat two defenders, control the ball with his head, and run it into the net, seizing the day for Wesleyan.
“Evan Hazelett did a good job possessing the ball on offense, and Harrison helped anchor the defense, staying in the whole game and playing like a true captain,” defender Pat Moriarty ’14 said. “The guys off the bench played really well, too, in what was a great team effort.”
The win was Wesleyan’s first versus Williams in a regular-season game since 1992, before most of the freshmen competing in the match were born. Further, it was Wesleyan’s first home victory against Williams since 1991. Yet rather than spending Saturday night celebrating, the Cardinals knew they had to keep their focus and conserve their energy for the next day.
Sunday saw Wesleyan venture up to Clinton, N.Y., to challenge the Hamilton Continentals. Opting to rest many of the top contributors in the long game the day prior, head coach Geoff Wheeler changed things up with a starting lineup featuring seven underclassmen and five freshmen, several of whom had never started before.
“Against Hamilton, we had four to five guys who had never started before starting, and those guys really stepped up,” said midfielder Zach Dixon ’12, a co-captain. “Where many other teams in the league will have one or two superstars who kind of carry their teams to wins, we have a very solid group of players that fought hard.”
The Cardinals made quick work of the Continentals en route to a 2-0 win, their first victory this year by a multiple-goal margin. Defender Pat Moriarty helped the Cardinals to yet another early lead, as he received a corner kick from midfielder Steve Paresi ’12 in the 12th minute of play and headed it into the back of the net. Wesleyan would receive yet another goal contribution from its sophomore class in the 67th minute, as Brock Barritt ’14 tracked down a loose ball near the left side and lofted a high shot into the Hamilton net.
Hamilton refused to quit, taking 14 shots on the rest of the day relative to Wesleyan’s eight. However, for the second day in a row, the Cardinal defense was in full form, and denied the Continentals with consistency. Adam Purdy contributed three saves for his fourth shutout of the year.
Wesleyan is currently in first place in the NESCAC, ahead of Little Three rivals Williams (second place, 3-1-1) and Amherst (third place, 3-0-0). This Saturday the Cardinals travel to Brunswick, Maine, where they will face the Bowdoin Polar Bears (0-2-1) at 11 a.m. in a rematch of the season opener in Middletown.