It was a picture-perfect start to the 2024 season for the Wesleyan women’s soccer team, who began with a 5–0–1 record, outscoring opponents 15–3. The Cardinals knew that maintaining their success would not be easy, though, with seven of their nine remaining games scheduled against NESCAC opponents and the Little Three title set to unfold over the first two weekends of October.

Entering their matchup on Sept. 28 against no. 22 ranked Tufts, the Cardinals had their hands full. The Jumbos proved their prowess early, scoring less than a minute into the game. Shaking off the early setback, the Cardinals tied the game 11 minutes later on a goal from Maria Utz ’27. It was Utz’s seventh point of the season, but it would not be her last of the game. In the 25th minute, Utz delivered a cross to Katie O’Connell ’25, who fired a low shot past the Jumbos’ goalkeeper to put the Cardinals in front. 

The Red and Black’s offense only mustered one shot in the second half, but they had done their job. The defense—anchored by Sheridan Snow ’28, Tori Rideau-Winds ’26, Caty Clements ’25, and Brianna Garcia ’28, who all played a full 90 minutes—thwarted a relentless Jumbos attack to give the Red and Black a 2–1 victory.

The victory over Tufts propelled the Cardinals into the national DIII rankings for the first time since their record-breaking 2021 season. Wesleyan slotted in at no. 23 ahead of their out-of-conference matchup against the University of Hartford Hawks on Oct. 1. The Cardinals were outshot for the second straight contest, but their sturdy defense, supported by five saves from goalkeeper Molly Brumbach ’26, kept the Hawks off the scoreboard. A 66th-minute goal from Juliette Sullivan ’27 proved to be the difference in the match and gave the Cardinals their fourth straight out-of-conference victory.

The Cardinals had three days to recover before their biggest test of the season against no. 2 nationally ranked Amherst. The matchup was a showdown between the two top teams in the NESCAC standings and was the first leg of the Little Three championship. 

Rideau-Winds noted that, though the Cardinals had not beaten Amherst on the road since 1993, the team used that statistic as motivation.

“I know on paper things look slanted in their direction, but we realized we are also a really good team, and we’re able to compete with these high-level teams, and we deserve to be winning against them,” Rideau-Winds said. “So, just going into the game, we just wanted to prove that we can compete with them, and I think we did that.”

The Cardinals outplayed the Mammoths in the first half, outshooting them seven to four, with six of those attempts on goal. None of the attempts found the back of the net, but the Red and Black were content to head into halftime tied up. The Mammoths picked it up in the second half, but Brumbach easily dealt with all three shots on goal, sealing her fifth shutout of the season. The game ended in a 0–0 draw, which snapped a five-game losing streak against the Mammoths and kept the Cardinals at the top of the NESCAC.

It was the Red and Black’s first scoreless game of the season. Still, Stefanie Stoj ’26 said the hard-fought tie was a positive outcome for the Cardinals.

“It felt so nice to tie Amherst,” she said. “Even though it wasn’t a win, it made us realize how good we can actually be and the level that we’re able to play at now.”

Before they could turn their attention to their showdown with Williams, deciding the Little Three championship, the Red and Black had to travel to Hartford for a mid-week game against Trinity on Oct. 8. It was a scoreless first half, with each keeper notching four saves. Two minutes into the second half, Stoj found the back of the net to give the Cardinals a 1–0 lead that they carried through the end of the game. In addition to the game against Hartford, the Cardinals’ victory over Trinity was the second game of the season in which Riley Buehler ’26 connected with O’Connell, who then set up a Cardinals attacker for a second-half game-winning goal.

After toppling Trinity, the Red and Black focused on their Oct. 12 matchup against no. 15 ranked Williams. Williams had fallen to Amherst 1–0 on Sept. 14, so the Cardinals knew they needed to win this game if they wanted to win the Little Three. 

But Brumbach went a step further, noting that, in order to avoid being co-champions, Wesleyan would have to win the game by two.

“Everyone was going into that game being like, ‘We have to win 2–0,’” Brumbach said. “Because there’s kind of this new drive that I’m feeling personally, I feel the team is feeling this year, to really go for bigger.”

Ultimately, Wesleyan eked out a 1–0 win, allowing only 2 shots on goal throughout 90 minutes. Although Williams dominated in the first half, the Cardinals came out strong in the second. Stoj’s goal in the 67th minute, assisted by O’Connell, sealed the deal for the Red and Black.

O’Connell said it was inspiring to watch Stoj come off her game-winning goal against Trinity and net another against Williams.

“I said to [Stoj] after the game, ‘Had you not come out flying the way you did, we probably wouldn’t have won that,’” O’Connell said. “She had three or four chances before her finish, so her coming out with the intensity she did really help us.”

Aided by Rideau-Winds’ ferocious defense, Brumbach recorded two saves in the win, putting away her seventh shutout of the season and taking the lead among NESCAC goalkeepers for shutout wins. 

Rideau-Winds spoke on Brumbach’s excellence and what her presence has meant to the defense.

“Molly’s just an insane goalkeeper, and I’ve been able to trust her so much throughout the past couple of years,” Rideau-Winds said. “Having such a solid keeper behind you is just awesome, because you can go into tackles as hard as you want to and have no worries of a shot getting off because your keeper can handle it.”

The Cards, now ranked no. 11 in the nation and boasting a 5–0–2 NESCAC record, had a much-needed week off before their Oct. 19 game at Bowdoin. A tough scoreless stretch ended in the 84th minute, when Meredith Feiner ’28 slipped in a goal that drove the Red and Black to a 1–0 victory. O’Connell’s offensive attacks also helped the Cards; the senior forward recorded five shots on goal. She currently leads the NESCAC in shots and shots on goal.

O’Connell credited halftime coaching with changing the Cardinals’ mindset and ensuring their victory against the Polar Bears.

“I think there was a lot of pressure on being at the top [of the NESCAC],” O’Connell said. “We had everything to lose, and Bowdoin had absolutely nothing to lose, and we were playing that way. So I think really implementing our attack-heavy coaching point at halftime really helped us.”

With their win over Bowdoin, the Cardinals entered the top 10, slotting in at no. 7. Their last out-of-conference game was against the Rhode Island College Anchorwomen on Oct. 22. It was a dominant showing from the Red and Black, who outshot the Anchorwomen 38–1 en route to a 5–0 victory. The Cardinals continued their dominant defense; as they wrapped up their victory against Rhode Island, they had not allowed a goal in over 600 minutes of play. 

Now, the Cards are facing down an Oct. 26 home Senior Day against Colby. If they can snag one more NESCAC win, they will clinch the no. 1 seed in the NESCAC, which will ensure they host the playoffs, provided they win their first-round game.

Brumbach offered her perspective on the end of the season and how the Cards can finish strong.

“Finishing out the season is interesting—like, that mental shift you have to go into tournament season [with],” Brumbach said. “After this, we get into knockout rounds. And I think, yeah, that could be intimidating in lots of senses, but we’re just trying to focus on what’s in front of [us]. If we can get away with the win [against Colby], that’s awesome.”

Beyond the Colby game, the Cardinals are looking to make history. The team has never gone undefeated, and only one roster in program history recorded fewer than three losses in a season. The team is also looking to win the NESCAC Championships for the first time in program history.

Stoj said that with goals as ambitious as these, it’s been important for the Red and Black to stay grounded and maintain perspective.

“I think just reminding ourselves that we’ve been winning for a reason,” she said. “We have a really great team chemistry and everybody supports each other on and off the field. So continuing that and remembering that we can play at any level against the best teams, and that’s reflected in the rankings right now. I think just keeping our confidence high and not letting ourselves feel the pressure.”

Sam Weitzman-Kurker can be reached at sweitzmankur@wesleyan.edu
Audrey Nelson can be reached at aanelson@wesleyan.edu