In a rematch of last year’s semi-final round of the playoffs, the men’s soccer team met the Williams Ephs this Saturday and encountered more unfortunate results, losing its opener 3-0. It was a disappointing but well-played start to Wesleyan’s 2004 campaign.
The Cards ran into trouble early as the Ephs gained a two-goal lead in the first 15 minutes of the contest. Although Wes controlled much of the play, Williams capitalized on its opportunities and the Cards once again found themselves battling from behind.
The team kept its composure, and shut out the Ephs for the remainder of the first half, leaving itself a surmountable 2-0 deficit at the break. The game was starting to look up with opportunities set up by Evan Berding ’05, Peter Glidden ’07 and Jared Ashe ’07, who saw a hole and forced a great save by Williams’ goalie. Unfortunately, an unlucky combination of yellow cards gave Cardinal midfielder Noah Isaac ’06 a red card, which forced the team to play a man down for the second half.
“[We] battled all the way to the end, said coach Geoff Wheeler. ”Although frustration was felt, the effort and fine midfield play will be positives to build on for this Wednesday’s match up against Springfield.“
Despite the loss of a player, Wesleyan still managed to dominate play in the second half. A great setup on a cross by Josh Stephens ’07 gave co-captain Evan Bissell ’05 the opportunity to put the Cards on the board, but unfortunately his scoring bid went wide. The team was forced into a lot of running, allowing some of the freshmen team members to gain varsity experience in the first game of the season.
Despite the strong second half effort from the Cards, Williams kept the team off the scoreboard. Another conversion early in the second half gave the Williams its third and final goal of the game.
All three of the Ephs goals were scored by last year’s NESCAC rookie of the year Brett Olsen ’07. Olsen was named NESCAC player of the week for his effort.
Wesleyan is not disheartened by the loss but sees it as an early wake up call.
”We possessed the ball well and created some good opportunities,“ Ashe said. ”We just need to tighten it up in the back a bit, and finish the chances we get. We’ll learn from this, and I’m sure we will see Williams again down the road.“
If anything, what can be said of the men’s soccer team after this game is that it is able to rise to a challenge despite obstacles and penalties being thrown its way. Although they weren’t dealt aces, the Cardinals did not fold, which is a good indication of the character and work ethic of this team.
Next up for the men is a 4:30 p.m. match at Springfield College on Wednesday. The squad’s home opener is Saturday at 11 a.m. on North Field against Trinity.
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