With the NESCAC playoffs for the fall sports well underway, it was another eventful weekend for the Wesleyan Cardinals. With four teams competing in playoff action, and one winter team kicking off its season, here’s a recap of each team’s events over these past three days.
Football
On Saturday, Nov. 8, the football team hosted Trinity in a battle for the NESCAC title. Trinity had one hand on the trophy heading into Saturday, as they boasted a 7–1 record. But if the 6–2 Cardinals defeated the Bantams, the two Connecticut rivals would be named co-champions with matching 7–2 records. After Wes beat Trinity in the final game of the 2024 season to earn the program’s first outright championship, the Bantams entered this season’s match eager for revenge.
After a scoreless first quarter, Wes put a field goal on the board to open the second. On their next drive, quarterback Matt Fitzsimons ’27 found Justin Meyreles ’27 on a broken play for what looked like an impressive first down. But after a few broken tackles, Meyreles sprinted down the right sideline and into the endzone for a spectacular 74–yard touchdown. Up 10–0, the momentum early was fully on the Cards’ side.
Trinity responded with a score of their own inside the three-minute mark, but running back Angelo LaRose ’27 took a first-down carry 78 yards down the field and punched in an emphatic touchdown. The game entered half 17–7 Wes, but the Red and Black knew that the team on the other side would ensure that the game was far from over.
Trinity struck first in the second half, bringing the lead to three points. Once again, LaRose was the spark plug for the Cards’ momentum, as he ripped off a 65-yard run to open the Red and Black’s first offensive drive of the half. LaRose’s statline jumped off the page this past weekend, rushing for 219 yards on his way to his first NESCAC Player of the Week. Fitzsimons found Sam Wien ’28 in the red zone for the score, putting Wes up 24–14.
The Bantams struck back with a touchdown of their own, but the two sides would trade empty drives until the beginning of the fourth quarter. Fitzsimons led a composed offense down the field, resulting in a 13-play, 57-yard drive that drained the Trinity defense. It resulted in Fitzsimons doing the work himself, finding the end zone on a QB sneak. Now it was up to the defense to eliminate the Bantams’ chances to claw back into the game for the last six minutes of the clock.
While Trinity did find the endzone at the two-minute warning to bring the score to 31–28, the Cards’ defense did enough on the Bantams’ final drive to force a last-play Hail Mary attempt. As the ball floated through the air as time expired, captain Dylan Connors ’26 and Mike Solimando ’26 met at the ball, and as Solimando caught the heave from the Bantams’ QB, the Cardinals secured the win and a share of the NESCAC title.
Field Hockey
Fresh off a 2–1 victory over Williams that marked their first NESCAC Tournament win in two decades, the Cardinals looked to keep their historic run alive in the NESCAC semifinals. Standing in their way were the top-seeded Tufts Jumbos, who entered the game riding an eleven-game winning streak. Tufts handed Wesleyan its most recent loss on Sep. 27, a 4–1 thumping that prompted the team to change its defensive system. Since then, the Red and Black had rattled off nine straight wins, surrendering only six goals in that span.
Neither team generated offense in the first quarter, but the Cards broke the game open six minutes into the second. Georgia Adams ’26 inserted the ball to the top of the arc, where Brooke Miner ’28 stopped it and Sydney Cameron ’26 faked a pass, opening a lane for Leila Feldman ’28 to step up and fire. Her shot deflected off a Jumbo stick, clanged off the crossbar, and dropped into the back of the net. It would have been a bad time to take a bathroom break, as the Cardinals extended their lead two minutes later. Meera Patel ’29 weaved through a swarm of Tufts defenders and slipped a pass to Feldman, who redirected it into the net to make it 2–0.
The third quarter was tightly contested, with neither team finding a goal. Tufts controlled much of the fourth, earning four penalty corners, but the Cardinals’ defense held strong, allowing only one shot on goal, which Audrey Pace ’26 turned away with ease. With 450 in attendance, the Cardinals earned their biggest win in program history. The victory set a new mark for single-season wins and tied the program’s longest win streak, while also giving Pace and the defense a record eighth shutout. Most importantly, it sent Wesleyan to their first-ever NESCAC Championship game, where they would face the Bates Bobcats the following day.
The Bobcats beat the Cards earlier in the year 1–0 on the back of a third-minute goal. Bates struck early again, this time in the eighth minute off the stick of Brooke Moloney-Kolenberg. The Bobcats added another goal before halftime, putting the Red and Black in only their second two-goal hole of the year. Wesleyan’s offense responded with relentless pressure in the second half, dominating possession and outshooting the Bobcats 17–0, including seven shots on goal. The Cardinals also earned eight penalty corners, but the Bates back line was unbreakable, turning away every chance and keeping the Cards off the board.
Bates went on to win 2–0, capturing their first-ever NESCAC Championship and becoming the first team in conference tournament history to record three shutouts in a single postseason. For Wesleyan, it was a tough ending to the NESCAC campaign, but still the most successful season in program history, and one that positions them for a deep NCAA D-III Tournament run.
Wesleyan will take the field Wednesday night on Hicks Field, hosting the Marywood University Pacers in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Red and Black finished 6th in the NCAA Power Index (NPI), while Marywood slots in at 96th, making them sizable favorites. A win would send the Cards to Babson College for the weekend’s regional rounds. They’ve already made history, but now they’ll try to make a run.
Men’s Soccer
After their incredible comeback victory last Saturday, the men’s soccer team traveled to Medford, Mass., for the semifinals of the NESCAC Playoffs. This was their first appearance in the conference semifinals since 2015, and they were eager to take it to any team they faced.
On Nov. 8, they kicked off their semifinal match against Conn. College, a team with which they were quite familiar. Only 11 days before, the Cardinals and Camels battled in both teams’ final regular-season games in Middletown, resulting in a 1–1 tie. This time, they faced off with a spot in the NESCAC Championship on the line.
The Cards fell behind early, as a header off a corner kick put them down 1–0 less than three minutes into action. The Camels continued to add pressure, as a shot that carried goalie Mathis Blanc ’26 into the goal gave them a 2–0 lead before the 10-minute mark. While the two Connecticut rivals went back and forth for another 80 minutes, the Cards could not take advantage of the opportunities they had to get back at the Camels.
Dylan Clack ’27 did find the back of the net in the final minute, but at that point, it was too late. Fascinatingly, this was the second straight game the Red and Black scored within the final minute, as last weekend it was a go-ahead goal by Aiden Londergan ’27 with 15 seconds left. However, this coincidence did not reap the same benefits, as time ran out on the Cardinals, and they were upset by Conn. College, 2–1.
With the NESCAC season over, the team now looks towards the NCAA National Championship Tournament. The Cards will host the first two rounds of their side of the bracket, playing Lehman College on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 11:00 a.m. With a win, they’ll face the winner of Rowan University and Bridgewater State University on Sunday.
Volleyball
Coming off a more mediocre 2024 season, the Cards got back to their winning ways in ’25, securing the #1 seed in the NESCAC Tournament. They finished with a 19–2 regular season and 9–1 in-conference record, with their one loss coming in a close five-setter against Tufts.
Last Saturday, Nov. 8, the Cards faced off with Bates in their NESCAC Quarterfinal matchup. Just one week before, Wes closed their season with a five-set win against Bates in which the resilient Bobcats hung around, taking the third and fourth sets before the Cards closed it in the fifth. They knew that although Bates was the #8 seed, they would not roll over and let the Cards through to the semis.
The Cards shot out of the gate in the first set, starting the match with an ace from captain Ali Landa ’26, and then jumping out to a quick 13–5 lead, with five different Cardinals recording kills early. The Red and Black kept rolling, and apart from losing a five-point Bobcats run at the end of the set, it was a dominant first in favor of the Cards, 25–15.
The Bobcats started to show some fight in the second, with the Cards going down 6–12, and the points lasting much longer. Landa got Wes back in it with three straight kills, but they still couldn’t get any separation or keep a lead. With a 24–23 lead for the Cards, the Bobcats refused to go down and won three straight points to take the set.
Tied at a precarious one set apiece, the third set was another nailbiter. After the Bobcats recovered from a 9–5 Cards lead, neither team could create more than a two-point lead. Tied at 18, two Bobcats’ attack errors, bookended by kills by captain Sophia Lindus ’26 and Siena Steines ’28, gave the Cards a 22–18 lead and finally created the necessary separation. On another Steines kill, the Cards took the set 25–20.
Looking to close it in the fourth, the Bobcats got out early, but after two Steines kills and three from Mila Chan ’28, the Cardinals knotted the score at five. It continued to be close until, locked at 10 apiece, the Cards dug deep and found a new level of play. They rattled off seven straight points highlighted by two aces and a kill from Lindus, and after conceding one point to the Bobcats, won another eight in a row to take the set and match. Steines starred in the match, recording a game-high 17 kills, and Chan was not far behind with 15 of her own on a ridiculous .467 hitting percentage. Behind the kills was an incredible game from Landa, who recorded a career-high 41 assists, assisting on over two-thirds of the Cards kills.
The Red and Black will host the NESCAC Championships this weekend, starting with a semifinal matchup with #4 Tufts at 5 p.m. this Friday.
Max Forstein can be reached at mforstein@wesleyan.edu.
Sam Weitzman-Kurker can be reached at sweitzmankur@wesleyan.edu.
Ethan Lee can be reached at ejlee@wesleyan.edu.
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