After an agonizing week spent wondering whether or not it would receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, the men’s soccer team (10-2-3) was indeed invited to the Big Dance along with three other NESCAC schools. The Cards drew a home game against Baruch College on Wednesday at 1 p.m.
Amherst (11-2-2) and Middlebury (11-5-1) also earned at-large bids while Williams (13-1-1) received an automatic bid by winning the NESCAC tournament. Having four NESCAC teams in the NCAAs is rare and speaks to the conference’s high national reputation.
“The NCAA has pretty much decided that the NESCAC is one of the best conferences in the country,” said tri-captain Peter Glidden ’07. “And I think it’s valid because if you look at our record against other teams in the region, we dominated it. I think its fair because these were the four best teams in the region. And besides, everyone in the country wants a little piece of the [NESCAC].”
Last year, the NESCAC sent only Wesleyan and Williams to the tournament. The Cardinals defeated Muhlenberg College 3-2 before losing to eventual champion Messiah College, 2-1, in overtime.
Because of a 1-0 overtime loss to lower-seeded Bates College in the first round of the NESCAC tournament on Oct. 29, the Cardinals were considered a long shot to make the national tournament. But the team’s regular season, which included wins over Middlebury, Bowdoin (10-4-1), and NCAA tournament-bound Western New England College (14-5-2), was good enough to convince the selection committee to extend the invitation.
“We had some really big wins this year and we really played with a lot of heart every game because we knew we needed to win as many games as we could,” said tri-captain Jared Ashe ’07. “The really big wins were in the middle of the season, like when I tucked a ‘G’ against Middlebury. That was a big moment and it probably got us into the tournament. Everyone knows I’m the person that likes to dance the most, that’s why I scored.”
Unlike last season, when Wesleyan struggled out of the gate but peaked late en route to the NESCAC Championship and an automatic berth in the NCAAs, the Cardinals started this season 9-0-3 before suffering their first loss to Williams. Over that time, Wesleyan not only broke a 77-year old school record with a twelve-game unbeaten streak but also climbed to the seventh spot in national rankings, also a historical best.
While the Cardinals struggled down the stretch, they will be well rested and reenergized for Wednesday’s match-up with Baruch. Though unfamiliar with their opponent – this is first ever meeting between the two schools – the Cardinals hope to push numbers into the opposing box to take advantage of an undersized Baruch team that features just four field players listed taller than six feet.
Wesleyan, which has played a tough brand of soccer all season, should also set the physical tone with hard tackling and by winning balls in the air over their shorter opponents.
“Right now Baruch is on fire and we just want to moisten them up a little bit,” said tri-captain David Baharestani ’07
Should the Cards get past Baruch, they would earn a date at Montclair State (19-1-1) this Saturday.
Leave a Reply