c/o Sterling Rodas
In the past two Division III polls, Wesleyan has slotted ninth in the nation, the highest spot of any NESCAC men’s soccer team. They were also at the top of the NESCAC tables. Through these two iterations of polls, the Cards snagged a routine 3–0 win from no. 15 Brandeis, a blowout win over Clark University, and a win and a tie against fellow NESCACians Trinity and no. 19 Hamilton respectively.
The game against Hamilton was a nail-biter, as it matched up the top two teams in the NESCAC to battle for the top spot. In the eighth minute, the Continentals scored a goal from a brilliant through ball which led to a point-blank shot by Jude Rouhana. The shot was blocked by Liam Devanny ’23, but the rebound fell right to Griffin Weidner, who put away his open look.
The rest of the game was controlled by Wes but, with the clock winding down, it seemed like they would not equalize. Finally, with just over a minute-and-a-half left on the clock, the Cards won themselves a free kick. Phillip Cubeddu ’23 serviced the ball into the box and Evan O’Brien ’24 headed it in for a goal, his second last-minute goal this season. The tie kept Wesleyan on top of the NESCAC, and it extended their undefeated season to seven games.
Double-header NESCAC games take a toll on the players both physically and mentally, and if the matches end in losses, it can be hard to find the motivation to bounce back the next weekend.
“Winning a NESCAC game is difficult in of itself, and a road double-header weekend trip only increases that difficulty,” Ethan Barrett ’24 said. “The Trinity game was not one of our best performances, and I think we were frustrated that we were struggling to score, which is a problem that has persisted from last season. That struggle continued versus Hamilton as well, where we received several chances but just didn’t have the quality to be clinical. Luckily, it just takes one good service and OB [O’Brien] was able to get us a tie, but we are always critical of ourselves, and we understand that if we want to be playing into December we’re going to have to put away the chances earlier.”
More recently, Wes fell to Middlebury (1–0) on Saturday, Oct. 1st in their first loss of the season. Although a downpour was forecast, the weather lifted to produce a chilly afternoon. The Cards came out sporting bright red kits in front of a half-coordinated red-out crowd of Wesleyan students and alumni, including those from the 15-win ’91 team. But the good-sized home crowd was not enough to boost Wes into the back of the net, although they certainly had chances. The solo goal of the day was hit by Middlebury’s Shane Farrell, a strong volley that pocketed into the lower right-hand side of the goal, just past the outstretched Devanny.
Wesleyan’s best play came from the outside, where the fullbacks played and overlapped with the wingers, connecting several passes before sending the ball across the box. In the final minutes of the game, as Wesleyan was down 1–0, this type of play produced several headers that either just missed the target or were stopped by Middlebury’s keeper. This loss stretches Wesleyan to an 11-game losing streak against Middlebury that dates back to 2013, including a 5–4 defeat in penalty kicks last year. Although Wes would have loved to continue their undefeated season and break their losing snap to Middlebury, a loss here is not something to be alarmed by. Losing can ground a team and offer a moment to reset.
The Middlebury match-up signified the middle of the Cards’ season. With five NESCAC games down and five more to go, now is a time to double down and reinvigorate the team to continue building towards playoff time. O’Brien noted the importance of understanding that losses happen, but it’s about what one does after a loss that really matters.
“The team started off to a great start, but with every championship story, there will be bumps along the way,” O’Brien wrote. “We started out 6–0 and are 0–1–1 in the last two games. The great teams will absorb these few bumps and smooth it out quickly. That’s what we will do. A few minor blips in a long season is the narrative that we want to write. We take good lessons from these games and will do everything we can to right the ship and get us back to winning. We have great talent, and once we put the pieces to this puzzle together we are going to take off.”
The second half of the season begins with a non-conference game against fellow Connecticut natives, Coast Guard, who were also undefeated until recently. Barrett is looking forward to this match-up as a way to test how the Cards will recover and learn from their experience with Middlebury.
“Coast Guard, in many ways, has mirrored us this season: they were undefeated, had a tie, and then a subsequent loss to a good MIT team this past weekend,” Barrett said. “We need to understand [that] a loss is natural and is part of a season. Obviously, we would like to go undefeated, but streaks and peaking is something that is really important when thinking about a playoff run, and I think tasting defeat is something that is very humbling, and it was something that we all had to sit with following the final whistle on Saturday.”
Wesleyan’s match against Coast Guard this Tuesday will illuminate how the Cards stack up after a loss. While Coast Guard is good, Wesleyan should be able to come out with a win. Wes can use this non-conference game to come into this weekend, where they will play NESCAC opponents Amherst and Bates, with some positive momentum.
Eli Seaver can be found at eseaver@wesleyan.edu