Premature darkness on Jackson Field left the Cardinals and Jumbos knotted at 0

Lianne Yun, Assistant Photo Editor

The lights quite literally went out just a bit too early for the Cardinals against Tufts on Tuesday. The clash ended in a scoreless draw after just one overtime. By about 6:30 p.m., two hours after kickoff, mother nature intervened, and darkness stole over storied Jackson field, which, no doubt following the footsteps of Andrus Field, has no permanent floodlights. The lack of natural light forced the officials to call the match before the second overtime could begin.

The match, while it lasted, was a vintage matchup of NESCAC heavyweights: a fierce, end-to-end thriller full of drama. The first half saw a fierce battle in the midfield, with both teams fighting to control the tempo of the game. Wesleyan’s first chance of the game came in eight minutes courtesy of Brandon Sousa ’16, whose strike rang off the post. With 18 minutes left in the half, Tufts thought they had found the opening goal from a set piece, after an attacker slotted in a header at the back post. But he was clearly offside, and the official made an easy decision.

Whereas the first was dominated by midfield battles and saw few clear chances for either side, the second half was thoroughly end-to-end, as both teams nearly found the game winner on numerous occasions. It was a nervous start to the half for the Cardinals, but Jonas Katkavich ’17 came up with two clutch saves to keep his team on track. Tufts attacker Matt Zinner’s clever chip look destined for the bottom corner, but Katkavich fully laid-out and parried the ball wide for a corner.

Katkavich answered the call once again in the immediate aftermath of that corner. The ball popped out of the scramble in the penalty area to find Tufts midfielder Jason Kayne, who ripped a left-footed shot from the top of the penalty arc toward the left side-netting, which was stopped brilliantly once again by a goalkeeper who has increasingly impressed throughout the season.

The Cardinals fired back quickly, as Adam Cowie-Haskell ’18 responded within two minutes with a shot from the top of the penalty area that rattled the bottom of the crossbar and flew back into play. With 20 minutes remaining, it seemed as if Tufts surely had the opening goal when Tufts forward Nathan Majumder found himself through on goal, one-on-one with Katkavich, and tried for a low shot around the lanky keeper. It seemed an eternity before the ball finally hit the post, but the Cardinals escaped with the score still knotted at zero. Around five minutes later, there seemed an undeniable appeal for a Wesleyan penalty kick after a ball whipped in from the right side surely hit a Tufts defender’s right hand. However, the center referee did not bat an eye and, despite his seemingly impeccable view of the play, the assistant referee offered no protest.

The Cardinals were dominant in the last 15 minutes of the game, and carried that momentum into the first and only overtime period. Wesleyan finished the second half with one more shot than Tufts, and posted three to the visitors’ one in overtime. Cowie-Haskell had the best opportunity to score in overtime, uncharacteristically missing just wide of the post on an excellent chance halfway through the period. The Jumbos had their only chance, a last gasp at the end of overtime from a Zach Halliday shot from the top of the area in the final minute, but the shot went wide.

The premature 0-0 ending certainly brought relief to the visiting Jumbos, who the Cardinals will feel got off the hook given the home side’s dominance in the latter stages of the match. Nonetheless, with the plethora of scoring chances for both teams, 0-0 should go down as a solid and fair result for both Wesleyan and Tufts, who came into the match 12th in the nation after its weekend defeat at home to Brandeis.

Looking ahead to Wesleyan’s next match on Saturday, the squad faces a tough road trip to Hamilton on homecoming weekend in Clinton, NY. On their last trip to Hamilton in 2013, Wesleyan dropped a tight 1-0 decision to the hosts, but returned the favor last year at home with an overtime victory, albeit a controversial one, sealed by a Ben Bratt ’15 penalty kick. Nevertheless, Hamilton has certainly given the Cardinals trouble in the past couple of years, and will be a tough test, especially away.

“We just need to not get caught up in their game,” Katkavic said. “It’s a long trip out there, and, if we stay focused for the trip, we will be fine.”

Indeed, the Cardinals certainly have the squad to take care of business Saturday in some style and with some ease. However, finding the firepower from last week, in which the Cardinals beat opponents 7-0 across two matches, will be key to put away a scrappy opponent looking to make a statement.