Coming off a spectacular 10-1-3 regular season record and a second place finish in the NESCAC standings, the men of the Wesleyan soccer team had high hopes as they took to Jackson Field on Saturday morning for a conference quarterfinal match against seventh-place Middlebury. However, as the clock wound down and the first snowflakes of the year began to fall, it was the visiting Panthers who emerged on top by a score of 3-2.

Wesleyan started things off on familiar footing by earning an early lead. In the 10th minute, midfielder Rory O’Neill ’13 sent a pass backfield to midfielder co-captain Zach Dixon ’12, who launched the ball from 30 yards out into the top-left corner of Middlebury’s net. The goal marked the seventh match on the season in which the Cardinals found themselves ahead after scoring within the first 15 minutes of playing time, the prior six of which ended in their favor.

However, Middlebury responded with three unanswered goals, and that was enough to upset both precedence and the Wesleyan squad. In the 29th minute, Cardinal goalkeeper Adam Purdy ’13 made a diving stop on a shot from Panther forward Noah Goss-Woliner, yet teammate Graham Knisley made the rebound on the right side and put the ball into an open net. The Panthers struck again less than two minutes later, as Robbie Redmond sent a pass down the left side to Matt Martin, who placed a cross-net shot that not even a diving Purdy could not stop as it sailed inside the far post to put the Cardinals behind for only the second time all season.

From that point forward, Wesleyan controlled the ball well around Middlebury’s end, yet was persistently frustrated by the defense. An increasingly bleak situation turned dire in the 84th minute, as Panther forward Martin Drolet  hustled a counterattack into a breakaway and scored a one-on-one versus Purdy, putting Middlebury up 3-1. However, 29 seconds later, Dixon rebounded a ball deflected by Panther goalkeeper Tim Cahill and chipped it in from 18 yards out for his second goal of the match, giving the Cards reason to hope. Yet the Panthers kept cool heads and staved off further threats to hold on for victory and a trip to the semifinals.

In spite of the disappointing result, the Cardinals’ 2011 campaign still has life. On the afternoon of Monday, Nov. 7, the squad received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament along with some of the best Division III teams in the nation. Wesleyan plays its first match this Saturday, Nov. 12 against Misericordia College (13-2-4), winners of the NCAA’s Freedom Conference.