c/o Sterling Rodas

In Play(er) of the Week, our goal is to highlight Wesleyan athletes or segments of games that deserve extra attention. This week, we will be highlighting a recent moment from the men’s soccer team’s Sunday, Sept. 25th matchup against Hamilton College. 

Going into the game, the Cardinals had a big challenge ahead of them as they faced off against the No. 19-ranked Continentals. Both teams were at that point undefeated, and the game was a test to see who could maintain their perfect record and stay atop the NESCAC standings.

The game got off to a rough start for the Red and Black. The Continentals came out strong in the first quarter with a shot by Jude Rouhana that was stopped by goalie Liam Devanny ’23. However, Hamilton maintained possession on the rebound, leading to another shot by Griffin Weidner that found the back of the goal, giving Hamilton a 1–0 lead less than eight minutes into the game.

The Cards were not deterred by the early disadvantage and continued to play hard, producing four shots and a corner in the last five minutes of the first half. The momentum continued into the second half, including four shots between the 51st and 53rd minute, but by the 87th Wesleyan was still down by one. 

But even with the clock working against them, Wesleyan proved they were still not backing down from the challenge. Evan O’Brien ’24 stepped up and was able to capitalize on a set-piece from Phillip Cubeddu ’23, heading the ball into the goal with only a minute and a half left.

This brings O’Brien’s goal tally for the season to three and Cubeddu’s total assists to five. This also isn’t the first time that O’Brien has found the back of the net while under pressure. Against the then No. 5 nationally ranked Tufts, when the score was tied 0–0 late in the game, O’Brien headed the ball off a free kick with ten minutes to go, allowing Wesleyan to pull ahead 1–0 in an upset win. This was the first time Wesleyan won against a Top 5 ranked team since 2016.

Wesleyan now sits at No. 9 in the rankings with a record of 6–0–1, maintaining their Top 10 national ranking for two consecutive polling periods. Looking ahead, men’s soccer will face off against Middlebury College on Saturday, Oct. 1st in a home game on Jackson Field. Only time will tell if they’re able to maintain their successful start to the season, but given their impressive record thus far, hopefully they will be able to come out on top against the Panthers.

Erin Byerly can be reached at ebyerly@wesleyan.edu.

Cameron Bonnevie can be reached at cbonnevie@wesleyan.edu.