It was an action-packed weekend for Wesleyan athletics, featuring seven teams in fierce competition. A Little Three title was decided. Two NESCAC Championships took place. Three NESCAC playoff games were played. The Argus recaps this weekend’s highlights and previews what’s next for each of the remaining fall sports seasons.

Football

It has been a magical season for Wesleyan football, who earned their fifth straight win to advance to 7–1, positioning them atop the NESCAC standings. The Cardinals trailed in the second half in all five of these games, but their disruptive defense and clutch offense helped them prevail. No game was more thrilling than their 25–24 homecoming victory, which secured the Little Three Championship. With six seconds remaining, quarterback and captain Niko Candido ’25 found wide receiver Luke LaSaracina ’25 in the end zone to tie the game. Kicker/punter Gage Hammond ’27 knocked through the ensuing extra point to give the Red and Black their third straight Little Three Championship and first three-peat since 1946–1948. Hammond went 2/2 on kicks and booted a NESCAC season-long 70-yard punt in a performance that earned him his second NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week award. The Cardinals’ last game of the season comes this Saturday, Nov. 9 at Trinity. The Bantams also sit at 7–1, making this matchup a battle for the outright NESCAC Championship. A win would give the Cardinals their second-ever and first outright NESCAC title.

Women’s Soccer

Speaking of magical seasons, women’s soccer finished the regular season undefeated (12–0–2), earning the no. 1 seed in the NESCAC Tournament. Facing Conn. College in the first round, the Cardinals outshot them 19–4 in regulation, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Then, in the 108th minute—two minutes before the teams would enter penalty shootouts—Juliette Sullivan ’27 snuck one past the Camels’ goalkeeper to send the Red and Black to the semifinals. It was their seventh one-goal NESCAC victory and the ninth NESCAC-leading shutout by Molly Brumbach ’26. The Cardinals will host Colby in a Saturday, Nov. 9 semifinal matchup. The winner will face the victor of Tufts vs. Amherst in the NESCAC Final on Sunday, Nov. 10. Sitting at no. 4 in the nation, regardless of this weekend’s outcomes, the Cardinals are all but guaranteed a top seed in the NCAA Tournament, which begins the following weekend. 

Men’s Soccer

After closing out their regular season with a 3–1 victory over Conn. College on Tuesday, Oct. 29, the men’s soccer team jumped up the NESCAC rankings to earn the no. 5 seed heading into the NESCAC Tournament. On Saturday, Nov. 2, the Cards headed up to Massachusetts to take on the no. 4 seed Williams. The Ephs struck first with a goal just one minute into the game, but the Cardinals fired back almost immediately with a goal of their own a minute later by midfielder Yousuf Saeed ’27, assisted by captain and forward Chris Porte ’25. Neither team was able to find the back of the net again during regulation, sending the game into overtime. The Red and Black out shot the Purple and Yellow seven to zero in the first period of OT, but still came away scoreless. Then, in the second period, after 102 total minutes of play, the Ephs scored off a yellow card free kick to win the game. Now, the Cardinals wait to see if they will be awarded an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

Volleyball

Unlike most of the other fall sports, volleyball’s postseason didn’t begin this past weekend. They closed their regular season with three games in three days, losing the first two but defeating Bates on Saturday, Nov. 2 to finish 7–3 in NESCAC play. Only Colby had a better NESCAC record, but tiebreakers gave the Cardinals the no. 4 seed. They will host no. 5 Trinity on Saturday, Nov. 9 in a rematch of an October battle that the Red and Black swept. Should they win, the semifinals and finals will be held the following weekend at the home of the highest remaining seed. This likely means a semifinal matchup against Colby, who is undefeated in NESCAC play. The Red and Black will be looking to repeat as NESCAC champions for the first time in program history. 

Field Hockey

After a 5–1 rout of Conn. College on Tuesday, Oct. 29 to extend their NESCAC win streak to three games, the Cardinals cracked the national top 10 for the first time in program history. They finished with their best regular season record since 2004, going 11–5 to earn the no. 4 seed in the NESCAC playoffs. The Cardinals hosted Bates in the first round on Saturday, Nov. 2, their first home playoff game since 2005. Both teams scored in the second period, but the remaining 50 minutes featured no goals, sending the game into a shootout. The Red and Black scored two of their first three attempts, but couldn’t find the back of the net again and fell to the Bobcats 3–2 in the shootout. With a loss, the Cardinals will now wait to see if they are one of 20 teams to receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The bids will be announced this Sunday evening once the conference championships wrap up.

Men’s Cross Country

The men’s cross-country team wrapped up their 2024 fall NESCAC season this past weekend at the NESCAC championship. Out of the 11 ’CAC schools, they placed fifth, their best team finish since 2010. Liam Calhoun ’26 was the Cards’ best finisher, improving 18 places from last year and finishing at 25:02.96. For this performance, he earned All-NESCAC First Team honors, the first of his career. Fellow teammate Alex Kermath ’26 improved from last year by 59 spots, running a 25:11.74, which was good for 16th place. Kermath earned NESCAC Runner of the Week on Tuesday, Oct. 8 for his performance at the NCAA Pre-National Championship, and he added to this resume at NESCACs, being honored on the All-NESCAC Second Team. This puts a bow on a very successful fall season for the Red and Black, where they finished third on Saturday, Sept. 21 at their home meet, the Cardinal Invitational, and finished first at the James Earley Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 12. The Cardinals now look forward to the NCAA Mideast Regional on Saturday, Nov. 16.

Women’s Cross Country

The women’s cross-country team followed suit with the men at the NESCAC championship last weekend, also finishing in 5th place of the 11 teams. Stephanie Ager ’26 was the best individual finisher for any Cardinal athlete at the meet, finishing in 3rd place of the 157 runners. She posted a 20:48.58, up three spots from last year’s championship, which earned her All-NESCAC First Team honors, a distinction she has received in all three of her college seasons. Jordan Walter ’25 finished in 20th, which earned her All-NESAC Second Team honors, the second of her career. The Red and Black had nine runners place in the top 100, with seven of the nine achieving new personal bests. This rounds out a NESCAC fall where the women finished 8th of 44 teams on Friday, Oct. 4 at the NCAA Pre-National Championship, and second at the James Earley Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 12. They now prepare for the NCAA Mideast Regional on Saturday, Nov. 16. 

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

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

Max Forstein can be reached at mforstein@wesleyan.edu.