Just when it seemed like fate did not have a Wesleyan win in store, there was Brandon Smith ’08, alone in the center of the box.
He was moving toward a centering pass from Matt Nevin ’09, who had just beat a defender on the left side of the box, going toward the goal line.
Smith flicked the ball with his heel through the legs of goaltender Steve Davies to give Wesleyan the 1-0 victory 1:09 into the second overtime against Coast Guard on Wednesday.
The shot totals can almost tell the story of this game themselves. After the first half, the Cardinal had out-shot their opponents 26-1. After all was said and done, the shots were 35-7.
With Chris Keeler ’07 out from an injury he sustained in the game at Middlebury, forward Jared Ashe ’07 was forced to come in at center back. He did a superb job, thwarting the Bears’ attack the few times it managed to break through the midfield.
The Cardinals, who moved to 3-2 on the year, dominated the entire game. Coast Guard is now 4-4-1.
Justin Mello ’08 played a fine game at left defensive back. One dazzling sequence saw him fake a long ball, then juke two defenders to take the ball up the field himself. He also made some key plays to keep the Bears’ forwards in check.
For almost the entire game, it seemed, Wesleyan was threatening in the offensive zone. As shot after shot sailed wide or was gobbled up by the keeper, it seemed more and more plausible that they would have to settle for a tie, a disappointing result for such a lopsided game.
Despite Wesleyan firing 35 shots, Coast Guard’s Davies was only forced to make eight saves before the final shot of the game found the back of the net.
In getting the win, goalkeeper Matt Gnall ’08 picked up his second shutout of the year, also the second of his career. The shutout, however, was the product of an entire team defensive effort that included smart, precise midfield play, as well as the backs.
“Our defense as a whole, especially Josh Stevens [’07] and Hooter [Peter] Glidden [’07] in the midfield, won their battles and then settled the ball and attacked intelligently,” said Co-captain Kevin Lohela ’06.
The defense wasn’t the only thing that kept Coast Guard bottled up. Wesleyan ate up much of the clock just firing shot after shot toward the Bears’ net. Stephens, Smith, and Morgan Owen ’07, each of whom had five shots, led the team. Nevin recorded four.
The Cardinals’ scoring troubles certainly cannot be blamed on effort, because they spent the entire game going up for headers in the box, blasting shots and generally trying every trick in the book to put home a goal. At least the effort finally paid off in the second overtime, giving Wesleyan a well-deserved win.
“It was a good game, we controlled play and moved the ball well,” said Ross Pemmerl ’08. “They had a couple chances, but we dominated for the majority and had more chances.”
Gnall, who is improving game by game, as he becomes more experienced and accustomed to the starting role, made those few chances harmless. He has been especially good coming off his line to dive on potential breakaways and to snare crosses out of the air.
Despite being slow to put home a goal Wednesday, the team seemed confident it would win. And that confidence was rewarded.
“It took us longer than we would have liked, and we certainly made it harder on ourselves than it should have been, but we found a way to win – and winning is a habit,” Lohela said.
Wesleyan hopes not to break its new habit this Saturday, when they play at Connecticut College at 2 p.m. The Camels bring a 0-3 NESCAC, 2-3 overall record to the match.
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