After another eventful weekend for the Wesleyan fall teams, there is much to recap and anticipate. Most eventful from this weekend was the football team’s fairy-tale ending to their 2024 season; they defeated Trinity on the road to capture their first outright NESCAC title. We look forward to publishing a recap of their eventful last string of games soon. In the meantime, four more teams will continue playoff action this week, as field hockey, men’s soccer, and women’s soccer all qualified for their NCAA Tournaments, and volleyball will continue their run in the NESCAC playoffs.
Field Hockey
This past weekend, the field hockey team had their first Saturday off from competition since the season began. On Saturday, Nov. 2, the no. 4 seeded Cardinals hosted their first NESCAC Tournament game since 2005 against no. 5 seeded Bates, whom the Red and Black had beaten 5–1 in the regular season on Saturday, Sept. 21. Unfortunately the Cardinals were unable to repeat the victory, and suffered a 1–2 double-overtime loss to the Bobcats in the penalty shootout. The Bobcats proceeded to defeat Middlebury in the semifinals, handing the Panthers their first NESCAC playoff loss since 2016.
But, thankfully, this was not the end for the Cardinals. On Sunday, Nov. 10, the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Committee announced that Wesleyan has earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. Additionally, because they boast an 11–5 record and currently sit at no. 11 in the nation, the Cardinals have also earned the right to host a first-round game. On Wednesday, Nov. 13, the Cards will take on no. 22 ranked Ithaca College on Hicks Field at 4:00 pm. This meeting will be the first time the two teams have ever competed against each other.
Men’s Soccer
The men’s soccer team had the weekend off as they awaited the results of conference championships across Division III. After games wrapped up on Sunday, all eyes turned to Monday’s selection show to determine if the Cardinals would be playing in the NCAAs. With the at-large bids being the Red and Black’s only hope to continue their season, the Cards believed that their in-season success would be enough to qualify them for the bracket. Luckily, they were recognized for that success, as they qualified for the NCAAs for the first time since 2012. The Cardinals were one of eight NESCAC schools to qualify for the 64-team field. They will travel to Babson College in Wellesley, Mass. to face the University of Saint Joseph on Saturday, Nov. 16. If Wesleyan advances, they will play the winner of Babson and St. John Fisher University the next day.
Women’s Soccer
Women’s soccer carried an undefeated record into the NESCAC semifinals, earning the right to host as the no. 1 seed. On Saturday, Nov. 9, they faced no. 6 seed Colby in a rematch of their senior game, which they won 1–0 on a game-winning goal in the 80th minute from Waverly Meyers ’26. Despite the Red and Black boasting a 5–2 first-half advantage in shots on goal, the Mules netted the sole goal of the first half, scoring in the 11th minute. Neither team scored in the first 30 minutes of the second half until Abigail Jarvi curled one into the top right corner to put the Mules up 2–0. The Cardinals did not go quietly. Meredith Feiner ’28 scored her team-leading sixth goal of the season in the 78th minute, cutting the lead in half. Three minutes later, Jarvi scored her NESCAC-leading 10th goal of the season to retake a two-goal lead. After Katie O’Connell ’25 was fouled in Colby’s goal box, Riley Buehler ’26 converted the penalty, making it 3–2 with six minutes left. The Red and Black could not find the equalizer, however, and fell to the Mules for their first loss of the season. It was still a record-breaking season: The Red and Black outscored their opponents 31–8 and became the first team in program history to have only one NESCAC loss.
The Cardinals were knocked out of the top five in the national rankings but remained comfortably inside the top 20. A bid to the NCAA DIII Tournament was all but guaranteed, but they had to wait until 2 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 11 to discover their matchup. As expected, they earned one of the 21 at-large bids, setting up a matchup with SUNY Brockport in the first round. The Red and Black’s first-round matchup against the Golden Eagles is at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16 in Scranton, Pa. Should they win, they’ll play their second-round matchup the next day against the winner of the University of Scranton and Marywood University game. If the Red and Black make it out of this section of the bracket, they will advance to sectionals the following weekend. Wins there would send them to the semifinals in Las Vegas on Thursday, Dec. 5.
Volleyball
On Saturday, Nov. 9, the Wesleyan volleyball team suited up to take on Trinity in the NESCAC Championship quarterfinals. While the team faced setbacks throughout the season, they finished with a strong 7–3 in-conference record and secured the no. 4 seed and home advantage for the quarters. When the Cards took on the Bantams in the regular season, the Cards put them away decisively three sets to none; however, each set was close towards the end, and Wes relied on late bursts to secure each one.
The first set of the quarterfinal started similarly to the previous matchup, with the Bantams jumping out to an early lead and the Cardinals fighting back—but this time, Wes could not seem to get over the hump and take a lead. The two went back and forth with five ties before the Cards finally took their first lead of the match at 24–23. Trinity rallied, and although Wes fended off a set point with a kill by outside hitter Michelle Jorba ’25, they fell 25–27. Right on cue, the Cards bounced back as they held a tight 10–9 lead early, but then went on a massive 15–5 run to take the set 25–14.
The third was another nail-biter as the Cards found themselves down 18–21 and several points away from being down a set. But with rallying in their DNA, they won seven of the next eight points to take the set 25–22 and take a 2–1 set lead. Outside hitter Siena Steines ’28 led the rally with back-to-back-to-back kills to give the Red and Black their first lead since they were up 4–3. In the fourth, the Bantams took back control and handed the Cards a tight but decisive 22–25 loss to force a fifth set.
The Bantams built on their momentum, jumping out to an early lead. Although the Cards kept the pressure on, Trinity led 11–8 in a set to 15 points. With the season on the line, the Cards locked in and rattled off point after point, capitalizing on errors and adding kills. Slowly, the blue-and-gold pom-poms in the visiting stands lowered. With the Cards up 14–11, Trinity committed their eighth attack error of the set, finishing off a match-winning 7–0 run for Wes. Jorba tied her career high with 17 kills (a mark she also matched when Wes took on Trinity in the regular season) and Steines set a new career high with 14, adding a career-high 12 digs for her first double-double.
This Friday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m., Wes will play no. 2 seed Middlebury in the NESCAC semifinals, looking to continue their season and earn a chance to claim their second straight NESCAC Championship.
Erin Byerly can be reached at ebyerly@wesleyan.edu.
Max Forstein can be reached at mforstein@wesleyan.edu.
Ethan Lee can be reached at ejlee@wesleyan.edu.
Sam Weitzman-Kurker can be reached at sweitzmankur@wesleyan.edu.
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