The year was 1939. President Franklin Roosevelt was in the midst of pulling the country out of the Great Depression. The New Deal was creating jobs and expanding services. Prohibition was over. It was a time for optimism.
At a small college in New England, the men’s soccer team started the season 6-0-3, the longest unbeaten streak of any Wesleyan team up to that point. That record stood for 67 years, until it was tied last Saturday by the 2006 squad after defeating the Colby Mules (2-3-2) by a 3-0 score. Wesleyan is now 8-0-1, a perfect 5-0 in NESCAC play, and tied with Williams at the top of the league.
It was an unusual 11 a.m, start time for Wesleyan on a chilly morning in Maine, and the team came out somewhat sluggish in the first minutes of the game. In the 14th minute, Chris Brown ’07 provided the spark that Wesleyan needed with a goal coming off a pass from Sam Griswold ’08.
“It’s good for us to have Brown in there early in games because he runs around with a lot of energy and it rubs off,” said Josh Stephens ’07.
Colby fought hard and kept the score at 1-0 until the waning minutes of the first half. They had a chance to tie it halfway through, as a Colby forward broke free, but keeper Matt Gnall ’08 came out of goal and made an aggressive play on the ball, stopping the point blank shot and keeping the shutout intact.
“You’ll get nothing and you’ll like it,” Gnall said in response to Colby’s attempt to score.
It ended up being the only save he would have to make all day, and it ensured his second straight shutout and third on the year.
In the 39th minute, Matt Nevin ’09 netted his team-leading sixth goal of the season off an assist from tri-captain Peter Glidden ’07. Glidden also got the assist on the capper, a 65th minute goal by Griswold, his fifth on the year.
Wesleyan out-shot Colby 12-5, and Mules keeper Josh Kahane ’07 allowed as many goals as he made saves. It was a rough weekend for a Colby squad that fell to 1-4-1 in NESCAC play after a Sunday loss to Williams.
Wesleyan’s Oct. 22 match against Williams is looming larger on the horizon after Williams extended their record on the season to 9-0.
“They [Williams] have got some talent,” Brown said. “There are all manner of lesser imps and demons, but the great Satan himself is red and scaly with a bifurcated tail and carries a hayfork.”
The team is taking it one game at a time, however, and trying to improve each week. Next up is a Saturday game at Bates, where the Cards will play for the most prolific start in school history.
Leave a Reply