The men’s soccer team impressed fans with back-to-back home wins following a second straight trip to Maine last weekend. After beating non-conference foe Western Connecticut State University (3-9-3) 3-2 on Wednesday, the Cardinals (6-4-1, 4-2-1 NESCAC) were well-prepared, entering the homecoming game against an Amherst College squad (10-2, 5-2 NESCAC) that was ranked second in Division III’s New England region.
The Lord Jeffs entered the game sitting alone at the top of the NESCAC standings and expecting to dispose of Wesleyan in front of the largest crowd of the year, but Wesleyan was able to pull out a 1-0 win and shake up the conference rankings with one week left before the NESCAC tournament begins.
In the Western Conn. State game, the Cardinals found their newest offensive weapon, Brandon Smith ’08, who scored all three goals of the match. Smith scored the first two goals within two minutes of each other, as the Cardinals were able to jump out to an early lead in minute 15. His first goal came on a shot from Mike Ryan ’05, which Smith re-directed for the goal. This same formula of Ryan to Smith would be exploited later in the game for the game-ending goal.
After jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead, the Cardinals put their faith in two of the team’s frosh goalies, Matt Gnall and Jamie Hiteshew, to preserve the lead. Despite allowing two quick goals to tie the game up within three minutes of Smith’s scoring flurry, Gnall, who played the first half was not fazed.
“Although I was upset to give up the first two goals of my college career, I knew my Jersey boy B. Smith would take care of it for me,” Gnall said.
Indeed, Smith did take care of him and the whole Cardinal team as he completed the hat trick early in the second sudden death overtime on the second assist from Ryan.
Feeling great about life in general, the men took North Field on Saturday ready to topple power-house Amherst in the homecoming match. The team came out strong and kept the game moving at a quick pace on the cold day. Despite the flow of the game, both teams entered the half with no score and with very few shots on goal.
In the second half there were also very few shots, but the Cardinals managed to make one count as Michael Trofa ’05 scored the only score of the game. The goal came in minute 72 and was the first goal of Trofa’s illustrious college soccer and academic-championship career. Trofa was all smiles after the game and was discussing possibly taking an excursion to Disneyland.
The team feels good following the victory and seems to have remedied a season-long scoring problem.
“Our squad has heart, and pulling out an overtime victory at home is a testament to that,” Smith said. “Right now, we’re developing a chemistry that will take us deep into the tournaments, we expect to win the NESCAC and we expect to get busy in the NCCAs.”
The Cardinals have two conference games left before their first NESCAC tournament game next Sunday. On Tuesday Wesleyan plays Tufts on the road, followed on Saturday by a visit from Bowdoin in the final home game of the season. Currently in fifth place in the NESCAC, the Cardinals need a strong showing to move up a spot during this coming week to earn a home playoff game this upcoming Sunday.
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