The men’s soccer team learned that even a well-played, gut-wrenching game can be decided by a single goal in their 1-0 loss to Middlebury last Saturday.
If effort and determination were guaranteed indicators of success in sports, the Cardinals would have managed to put away at least one of their twelve shots.
However, a miss-hit by Middlebury’s Baer Fisher intended to cross the net turned out to be the game winner twenty minutes into play. The ball carried just over the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Matt Gnall ’08 and caromed high off the far post and into the net.
Disappointment followed the final whistle for Wesleyan as it seemed like a waste for such a hard-fought game to be decided on a fluke goal.
The undefeated Middlebury squad moved to 5-0 on the year, 3-0 in the NESCAC. The Cardinals, who are 2-2, 1-2 NESCAC, have suffered their two losses to teams ranked nationally in the top twenty. Middlebury was ranked 18 going into the weekend, and Williams moved up to the number 6 spot after beating Wheaton 3-2.
“I was proud of our effort and look forward to getting back out there on Wednesday against Coast Guard,” said Head Coach Geoffrey Wheeler.
Putting this game in the back of their minds as quickly as possible would appear to be the best remedy at the moment, as scoring troubles continued to plague the Cards.
Already down 1-0, Wesleyan turned up the offensive intensity. Justin Mello ’08 played a diagonal ball to Morgan Owen ’07, who sprinted onto it, then tried to pop it over the goalkeeper. At 6’4“, Middlebury’s Zack Toth was able to snare the attempt.
Matt Nevin ’09 had a great chance when his volley from the eighteen was tipped just over the crossbar. A free kick by Peter Glidden ’07 also from the top of the box swerved just wide. Nevin led the team with four shots.
After the first goal, Gnall settled in and kept Wesleyan within a goal, making some dazzling saves along the way. He ended up with six in all.
The game was very physical, and much of it was played in the air. This translated into a very dangerous situation for Chris Keeler ’07. He challenged a Middlebury player for a head ball and got flipped on his back. He was taken to the emergency room, but the injury does not appear to be too serious.
The physical play of the Panthers was matched, push for shove, by Wesleyan. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, this may have been just what Middlebury wanted.
”We competed with their physical play but played too much into their game,“ said Glidden. ”Tough loss, but they’re a good team.“
After giving up one goal in the season-opening win against Connecticut College, the Panthers now have four consecutive shutout victories.
Wesleyan has played competitively in each of its four games, but defensive lapses and difficulty finishing continue to plague them. Saturday, they were unable to capitalize on several scoring opportunities, and a breakdown in the defensive zone led to an unassisted goal.
The team feels confident that their losses are simply a part of the growing process of a young team early in the season.
”We have come up short against the two best teams in the NESCAC, but I’m confident that we will see Middlebury and Williams again in the tournament,“ said Co-captain Noah Isaacs ’06. ”Until then, we have a lot of opponents to beat so we can reclaim our self-proclaimed title of ‘Masters of the NESCAC’ and maybe even the world.“
Last year, Wesleyan beat Bates and Vassar in the NESCAC tournament, making it to the semi-finals before falling 1-0 to Williams. This time, just getting back to the semi-finals may not be enough as the Cardinals have set their sights on defeating Williams and Middlebury.
The Wesleyan forwards will have another chance to generate goals on Wednesday at 4:30p.m. in the arts quad against a Coast Guard team. The Bears bring a 4-3-1 record to the match, including a 4-0 loss to Trinity whom the Cardinals shut out 2-0 earlier this season.
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