2025 has come and gone, and with it three semesters of athletic success for the Wesleyan Cardinals. As this semester comes to a close, The Argus looks back on some of the best moments for the Red and Black over the last year.
Men’s Basketball Beats No. 8 Emory in Nailbiter to Make Final Four
On March 15, Wesleyan men’s basketball hosted No. 8 Emory University in the NCAA Division III Tournament Elite 8. This was the first Elite 8 appearance in program history and marked the culmination of the best season in program history.
The Cards started strong with a 8–0 run at the beginning of regulation and held control throughout the first half thanks to 16 points from captain Nicky Johnson ’25. However, the Eagles hung around and were only down by five at the break, 28–23. In the second half, Wes capitalized on the offensive glass and continued playing stellar defense to stretch the lead to 12, but the Eagles were still a top-10 team and would not go down without a fight. Up 52–40, Wes saw their lead slashed to one over the next five minutes. Captain Shane Regan ’25 got it to three, but an and-one for the Eagles tied the game and sent it to overtime. The Cards went down a bucket early, but Johnson quickly got it back, taking the lead with a three. From there on, the Wes interior defense stopped every Emory try, forcing five misses in the paint. With two seconds left, the Eagles were forced to foul Johnson. The captain stepped up to the line and nailed both, sending the Eagles packing 61–58.
The Cards went to a ridiculous 30–1 with the win and earned the program’s first trip to the Final Four. The Red and Black put the whole country on notice in 2024–25, winning 26 straight games to begin the season and sitting at No. 1 nationally for much of the year. This year, they look to prove that the season was not a fluke and defend their place at the top of D-III men’s basketball.
Football Wins NESCAC Championship
For the second consecutive season, the NESCAC Championship was decided by the in-state rivalry between Wesleyan and Trinity. The Cardinals defeated the Bantams last year 27–17 to take their first outright NESCAC Championship. Trinity had Wesleyan’s number in Middletown, though, taking every matchup since 2014, including a 58–6 blowout in 2023.
After another defensive first quarter, the second quarter saw both offenses break out. The Cards were carried by two long touchdowns: a 74-yard connection from Matt Fitzsimons ’27 to Justin Meyreles ’27 and a 78-yard run from Angelo LaRose ’27. The Red and Black took a 17–7 lead into the locker room, and after the Bantams cut the lead to three, found comfort in another long LaRose run, this time a 65-yarder that set up Fitzsimons to find Sam Wien ’28 in the end zone two plays later. The Bantams responded with a quick score, but Fitzsimons and the offense were able to string together a long touchdown drive, and the defense forced two fourth-quarter punts. Trinity added a late touchdown to make it 31–28 and then got the ball back with 10 seconds left, looking for a miracle, but Mike Solimando ’26 intercepted the Bantams’ Hail Mary to give Wesleyan the victory.
It was the Cardinals’ first back-to-back championship and capped off the most successful four years in program history. Across the past four seasons, the Cardinals amassed 27 wins, went undefeated in the Little Three, and brought home two of the program’s three NESCAC titles.
Softball Caps Historic Season With Run to NESCAC Championship Game
Wesleyan softball took a massive step forward in 2025, winning 10 in a row to start the year and finishing with a 12–6 NESCAC record in their best regular season in 15 years.
On May 11, the Red and Black faced Bowdoin in the NESCAC Semifinals. For two innings, the game remained scoreless until the Cards broke it open in the top of the third. Rebecca Cassel-Siskind ’26 singled in a run and advanced to second on the throw home. Then starting pitcher Abby Orso MA ’25 extended the lead with a sac fly and with two outs, Waverly Smart ’27 singled in two to bring the score to 4–0. While Bowdoin was able to score in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, they couldn’t muster the rally they would need to catch the Cards. In the bottom of the seventh, Jacelyn Lees ’28 struck out the final Polar Bears batter, stranding the tying run on third and securing the win. The Cards advanced to their first NESCAC Championship game since 2010 in an incredible season for the program.
Men’s Soccer Scores Twice in Final 10 to Defeat Amherst in NESCAC Quarterfinals
On Nov. 1, the men’s soccer team kicked off the 2025 NESCAC quarterfinals at home against Amherst. After a 5–1–4 in-conference regular season, the Cards looked to start the postseason strong with a confident win against the Mammoths. But for 80 minutes of game time, the Red and Black’s rivals got the best of them.
Amherst held a 2–1 lead for twenty minutes of the second half, and Wes was running out of time. In the 80th minute, John Senn-McNally ’28 found the feet of Joshwin Jennings ’27, who put it in the back of the net for the equalizer. It was Jennings’ second game-tying goal of the week—he had scored in the 83rd minute to tie Conn. College in the regular season finale—earning him his first NESCAC Player of the Week.
As the last 10 minutes progressed, the two teams traded strong offensive pushes, but as pressure mounted, the Cardinals’ leading goal-scorer took center stage. With 15 seconds to go and the Red and Black on the offensive, a batted ball from a Ford Cash ’29 header landed in front of Aiden Londergan ’27, who fired it past the Amherst goalie. Londergan’s goal put the Red and Black in the NESCAC semifinals for the first time since 2015.
Field Hockey Takes Down Williams and Middlebury
Wesleyan Field Hockey’s weekends did not get much bigger than the second weekend of October: They faced back-to-back road games at Williams and Middlebury, entering the weekend 1–46 combined on the road against the two programs.
On Saturday, with the Little Three Championship up for grabs, Williams and Wesleyan were even with one outlier. The Ephs had 10 shots compared to the Cards’ 11, with their 11th putting them on top in the fourth period. A corner was inserted to Emily Smith ’29, who sent the ball to the far post, where Marley Procopio ’29 was waiting to one-time it into the goal. The goal secured Wesleyan’s first win over Williams since 2012 and, more importantly, their first Little Three title since 2003 and the fourth in program history. But celebrations were brief, as the Cardinals immediately headed north to Middlebury, Vt.
Against the Panthers, the Red and Black trailed by one at halftime but came out surging, outshooting Middlebury 5–1 and earning a 5–0 corner advantage in the third period. On their fifth corner, the offense finally broke through: Teddy Tolbert ’28 inserted to Sydney Cameron ’26, who slid it to Brooke Miner ’28, who found Smith for the equalizer. The game moved to overtime, and a minute before they would go to penalty shootouts, Natalie Shaw ’28 got a Smith delivered the game-winner.
It was not only Wesleyan’s first win at Middlebury but also their first victory over a top-four team in the country. The momentum carried forward, and the Cardinals went on to shatter more program records, reaching their first NESCAC Final and NCAA Elite Eight and completing the most winningest season in team history.
Volleyball Advances to Sweet Sixteen After Five-Set Thriller Versus Ithaca
With a spot in the Sweet Sixteen on the line, the no. 17 Cardinals met No. 12 Ithaca in Silloway Gymnasium on Friday, Nov. 21. The Bombers took the first set 25–23, but the Red and Black battled back to win the second (25–19) and third (25–23). Wes hit .297 in the second and saw five kills from Sophia Lindus ’26 and four kills and two aces from Mila Chan ’28.
In the fourth, the Cards battled back from a 12–17 deficit to lead 24–23 but they weren’t able to close it out. The Bombers forced a fifth set on the backs of a 4–1 run to close the fourth set and win it in extra points 30–28.
After falling behind 2–3 to start the fifth set, the Red and Black won 8 straight points and never looked back. Four of those eight kills came off Lindus’ arm in what would be a six-kill set for the senior captain. The Cards won the set 15–12 to take the 225-point thriller. Chan also saw four more kills and an ace in the fifth accompanied by two from Fiona LaCamera ’27 and one from Siena Steines ’28.
Women’s Lacrosse Defeats Middlebury for the First Time in Program History
After a NESCAC quarterfinal win against fourth-seeded Amherst on April 26, the Cards headed up to Middlebury, Vt., looking to avenge their March 29 loss (9–10) to the Panthers. The Red and Black faced an uphill battle playing the undefeated and defending national champions on their home turf. The historical precedent was working against them, too: The Cards’ all-time record against the Panthers was 0–26.
None of that ended up mattering.
After the first quarter, the Cards were down 3–4. Then, energy shifted, with the Cards going on a 4–0 scoring run in the second quarter seeing goals from Sam DeLeo ’25, Kiara Tangney ’25, Addie Cummings ’26, and Mya Waryas ’27. Taking the lead 4–24 into the second quarter off a free-position goal from Tangney, the Cards never trailed again. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Panthers were one goal down but the Cards scored three fourth quarter goals—two from Tangney and the insurance goal from Waryas—to win it.
The Red and Black did what seemed impossible, defeating the reigning national champions and snapping the Panthers’ 67-game win streak en route to the NESCAC championship game.
Ethan Lee can be reached at ejlee@wesleyan.edu.
Max Forstein can be reached at mforstein@wesleyan.edu.
Sam Weitzman-Kurker can be reached at sweitzmankur@wesleyan.edu.
Leila Feldman can be reached at lfeldman01@wesleyan.edu.
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