You’d think that the men’s soccer team, which had just gotten back from eight hours on the road and a 2-1 victory against a tough Middlebury team, would be tired after playing nationally ranked Western New England College (WNEC) less than twelve hours after returning. You’d be wrong.
The squad kept their undefeated season going with two wins in two days this past weekend, two 2-1 victories against national powers. On Sunday the team wrapped up a difficult stretch by defeating WNEC at home, and expect to be nationally ranked themselves when the latest polls come out this week.
Last week Wesleyan beat Tufts for the first time since 2002, which was nothing compared to their winless stretch against Middlebury that snapped this weekend. Wesleyan hadn’t beaten Middlebury since 1996, and the Panthers were undefeated this year before Saturday’s game.
The game was deadlocked until the 76th minute when Sam Griswold ’08 scored. Middlebury evened the game minutes later with a goal by Casey Ftorek, and it looked certain that the match would enter overtime.
But with 44 seconds left, Ross Pemmerl ’08 hit captain Jared Ashe ’07 on a set piece from the corner, and Ashe hit the back of the net for the game winner. It was a hard-fought match as the two teams were virtually even statistically until the very end.
“We’re ferocious, we’re tenacious and we can’t be stopped,” Chris Brown ’07 said.
The Cards extended their win total to five on Sunday as Matt Nevin ’09 and Morgan Owen ’07 both scored against WNEC. Nevin’s goal, his third of the season, was highlight reel material as he juggled the ball over a defender’s head before volleying it home from the top of the box. Owen’s goal, which proved to be the game-winner, came off a brilliant cross from Griswold to the back post. Owen beat the WNEC keeper to the ball and headed it to the far corner for his second tally of the young season.
WNEC made it interesting towards the end of the game by scoring with two minutes left, but the Cardinal defense held strong for the win.
The Cards are 5-0 for the first time since the 1991 team opened up 7-0-1 and finished with a 15-1-1 record. The hot start has Wesleyan tied atop the NESCAC with Little Three rivals Williams and Amherst. The Cards will take on those two squads on consecutive days in late October, a stretch that could decide the regular season NESCAC champion.
“We’re steering the ship into unchartered territory and we’re confident we can conquer new lands,” David Baharestani ’07 said.
The next game for the Cardinals is Wednesday at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Wesleyan is 6-1 in their last seven meetings, and hopes to extend their undefeated streak to six. The next home game is Saturday at 11 a.m. against Connecticut College.
Leave a Reply