Having reached the midpoint of the athletic season for most of the Cardinal squads, it’s time to review the year thus far and see what we should expect over the next six weeks. Every team has playoff aspirations, and all of them are realistic. Two teams, men’s soccer and football, enter Little Three play with hopes of grabbing that crown over rivals Amherst and Williams.
Men’s Soccer
The men’s soccer team has come out and played defense precisely as they need to in the interest of fulfilling its goal of capturing the NESCAC title and making a run in the NCAA tournament. The team is first in the conference in Goals Against Average, standing at a tidy .51 goals per game. Keeper Emmett McConnell ’15 is in the top three in the conference in saves per game and goals against. Just as importantly, the team allows fewer shots per game than any other in the league. The Cards do, however, rank last in goals per game, in large part due to injuries that have plagued midfielder Danny Issroff ’15. That being said, Brandon Sousa ’16 and Adam Cowie-Haskell ’18 have stepped up to help the Cardinal offense, ranking as the top two on the team in points and shots.
Women’s Soccer
Despite being tied for last in the conference standings, and being 0-4-1 in-conference thus far, the women’s soccer team still stands to make a run in the final weeks of the regular season. The team has six one-goal losses this year, the most in the conference. Sarah Sylla ’17 returned last week after missing seven games and scored a goal in her first match back. She should be the offensive weapon necessary for a Cardinal squad that ranks last in the league in goals scored. The defense has to improve, though: they rank last in the conference in goals against.
Football
The football team started the season with the hopes of winning the Little Three, the NESCAC, and, if all went according to plan, finishing undefeated. The defending conference co-champions played one of their most crucial games of the year in week one and emerged 22-14 victors over 2013 co-champion Middlebury. However, they learned last season the importance of not getting ahead of themselves. Like this team hopes to do, last year’s Cards started the year 7-0. This year, though, they hope to avoid last year’s week eight result: they fell in an embarrassing 40-10 loss to Trinity, whom Wes hasn’t beaten in 14 years. The Cardinals currently rank top in the league in points per game, and will improve even more when second all-time leading rusher LaDarius Drew ’15 returns from a foot injury. They also have benefited from a plus-five turnover margin through three games, which is more than twice as good as the next closest team.
Field Hockey
The field hockey team stands in a good position to snag a spot in the top eight and make the conference playoffs, as they’re tied for seventh with Hamilton. They’ve received strong play from Captain Hannah Plappert ’16 on the attacking end, but they rank in the bottom three in most defensive categories. Upcoming games against top-four teams Middlebury, Trinity, and Amherst will indicate whether the women are able to hang with the NESCAC elite. If they can pull out wins against any of those teams, field hockey will stand a chance of breaking its seven-game playoff losing streak in November.
Volleyball
The volleyball team has struggled in-conference this season, currently standing at tenth in the conference with a record of 1-4. That being said, statistics indicate that they stand a good chance of improving: they’re in the top seven as a team in aces, assists, kills, and hit percentage. Captain Claire Larson ’15 is third in the league in assists, and Naja Lewis ’17 is fifth in blocks. The women are next-to-last in the NESCAC in digs, though, and must improve this aspect as they go forth with the hopes of making the postseason for the first time since 2010. They’ll want to build momentum off their five-set win against Colby last weekend, and they still have matches left against Conn College, Middlebury, Bates, and Hamilton, who are four of the bottom six teams in the league.
the Little Three, the NESCAC, and, if all went according to plan, finishing undefeated. The defending conference co-champions played one of their most crucial games of the year in week one and emerged 22-14 victors over 2013 co-champion Middlebury. However, they learned last season the importance of not getting ahead of themselves. Like this team hopes to do, last year’s Cards started the year 7-0. This year, though, they hope to avoid last year’s week-eight result: they fell in an embarrassing 40-10 loss to Trinity, whom Wes hasn’t beaten in 14 years. The Cardinals currently rank top in the league in points per game, and will improve even more when second all-time leading rusher Ladarius Drew ’15 returns from a foot injury. They also have benefited from a plus-five turnover margin through three games, which is more than twice as good as the next closest team.
Field Hockey
The field hockey team stands in a good position to snag a spot in the top eight and make the conference playoffs, as they’re tied for seventh with Hamilton. They’ve received strong play from Captain Hannah Plappert ’16 on the attacking end, but they rank in the bottom three in most defensive categories. Upcoming games against top-four teams Middlebury, Trinity, and Amherst will indicate whether the women are able to hang with the NESCAC elite. If they can pull out wins against any of those teams, field hockey will stand a chance of breaking its seven-game playoff losing streak in November.
Volleyball
The volleyball team has struggled in conference this season, currently standing at tenth in the conference with a record of 1-4. That being said, statistics indicate that they stand a good chance of improving: they’re in the top seven as a team in aces, assists, kills, and hit percentage. Captain Claire Larson ’15 is third in the league in assists, and sophomore Naja Lewis ’17 is fifth in blocks. The women are next-to-last in the NESCAC in digs, though, and must improve this aspect as they go forth with the hopes of making the postseason for the first time since 2010. They’ll hope to build momentum off their five-set win against Colby last weekend, and they still have matches left against Conn College, Middlebury, Bates, and Hamilton, who are four of the bottom six teams in the league.
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