Wesleyan men’s soccer made waves last season, securing their first NCAA Division III (D-III) Tournament berth since 2012. The achievement marked a step forward for the program and its national recognition, but this year the Cards wanted to show that it was anything but a fluke. With a big recruiting class of 15, it would be up to the leadership to turn that raw talent into a well-oiled machine.
“[First-years] take up almost 50% of our entire roster, and so we had a ton of discussions going into the season about how we can make sure everybody knows their value on the team,” captain and defender Zach Feldman ’27 said. “And regardless of whether or not you’re a young guy playing heavy minutes or a young guy that’s still trying to find their way on that front of things, everybody’s super important.”
Five days before classes started, the Red and Black were ready to go, kicking off with a non-conference matchup against Western New England University. Although it was not a NESCAC matchup, the Cards knew they could make an early season statement with a win.
“One thing that we really emphasized last year was that it doesn’t matter who we play: Next game is the biggest game that we have,” goalkeeper Mathis Blanc ’26 said. “No matter what game it is, we give 100% every single time.”
Forward Joshwin Jennings ’27 broke open the scoreboard for the season with a 19th minute goal assisted by midfielder Yousuf Saeed ’27. Saeed would go on to have a day netting two goals, one a rebound off a save by the Golden Bears’ keeper in the 48th minute and the second one a soaring free kick to the upper left of the net in the 74th. The Cards’ defense was lockdown, shutting out the Golden Bears for a 3–0 final. Blanc finished with a six-save shutout to get the season started right.
Next up was a team the Cards were too familiar with: No. 5 Babson College had beaten Wesleyan in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, and the Cards wanted revenge. Although the Cards outpaced the Beavers in shots on goal (5–2), Babson made the most of their attempts, sinking an eighth minute goal which would be the decider in a 0–1 loss.
The Cardinals concluded their pre-NESCAC season with a 1–0 win over Western Connecticut State University on Sept. 9, with the lone score coming off the foot of Saeed on a penalty kick, his third goal in as many games.
On Sept. 13, the Cards were back on home turf to take on Hamilton, and got off to a great start. Off a rebound from a Jennings shot, forward Ford Cash ’29 netted the first goal of his college career to give the Cards a 1–0 lead. The first-year attack continued as forward Wyatt Sprenkle ’29 converted off a pass from midfielder Jacob Schindler ’29 to put Wes up 2–0 before the break. In the second half, the Continentals flipped the script, and defensive lapses in addition to an 88th minute penalty kick resulted in a 2–2 draw. While not a loss, the Cards knew they let the Continentals back in the door after an exceptional first half of play.
“It didn’t feel great, but when I’m thinking towards these earlier games in the season, especially Hamilton, I’m thinking about the growth that we’ve had since then,” Blanc said. “We played the first half and then we forgot to show for the second half.”
The Cards then took on Brandeis University at home, and although Jennings put them on the board early with an 11th minute goal, the Cards fell to the Judges 1–2 in another disappointing performance. While these were not the results the Cardinals wanted, they were more opportunities for the young team to learn what it meant to play under pressure and gain confidence in those situations.
Coming off the match, the Cards made the long trip up to Lewiston, Maine, needing a win. The Cards battled hard, outshooting the Bobcats in the first half, but they went to the break scoreless. As the game went deep into the second half, the Cards continued to create chances and stifle the Bobcats’ offense, but the score remained knotted at 0.
Although the game remained tied, Blanc was confident in the Cards.
“We really anchored that back, that nothing was going to get past us,” Blanc said. “If this is going to be a win, it’s gonna be a win for us.”
With four seconds remaining in regulation, Wes got their opportunity on a corner. With the whole team pushing for one final play, Forward Aiden Londergan ’27 sent a ball to the left post where defender Riley Harvey ’29 was waiting. Harvey got a head on the ball and sent it into the right side of the goal as the clock hit zero. The Cards stormed the field, mobbing Harvey and celebrating their first NESCAC win of the season. For his heroics and play, Harvey was awarded the NESCAC Player of the Week, the first time a first-year Cardinal had won the recognition since Lucas Ruehlemann ’25 in 2021.
“What I liked most about that game was, even though it took a moment of brilliance from Riley, I felt like we were [in] control the whole game. There was a level of confidence in everybody doing their job that allowed us to really get that goal in the end,” Feldman said. “Winning that game really catapulted us in a positive direction to where we are now.”
The next weekend held a double header for the Cards against two nationally ranked opponents: No. 22 Tufts on Saturday and No. 7 Middlebury on Sunday. With long hours on the bus bookending each game, the Cards would need to dig deep to leave the weekend successful.
Against Tufts, Wes dropped down a goal early, but the team regrouped and didn’t panic. They played competently, waiting for their moment, and in the 73rd minute, Jennings threw the ball in and found forward Sam Wheeler ’27 at the line for a game-tying shot. The game ended 1–1, but the Cards were proud of their steady play and trusting their system.
“We didn’t falter,” Blanc said. “Last year we lost to Tufts 4–1, and it was a very similar story where they scored very early on. But for the whole team to hold that line, it becomes anyone’s game. The test was, after Bates, how was our resiliency after going a goal down.”
Coming off the draw, the Cards wanted to make a statement against the Panthers. Wesleyan came up winless in their previous nine meetings with Midd dating back to 2015, a trend they wanted to reverse. Middlebury’s prolific offense created chances in the first half, outshooting Wes 5–1, but neither team was able to score. Coming out in the second half with new fire and off a saved header attempt by Cash, Londergan gave the Cards the lead with a rebound score. The Panthers kept coming at the Cards, but Blanc anchored a stellar defense, thwarting every Middlebury attempt and finishing with eight saves in the 1–0 shutout. For his efforts, Blanc was awarded the Cardinals’ second straight NESCAC Player of the Week.
“After these victories, you have that belief of, ‘Oh yeah, we are there,’” Blanc said. “That reinforces the initial belief that we could really beat anyone.”
The following weekend, former Cardinals came back to Jackson Field to support their old team on alumni weekend. With their former teammates looking on, the Cards knew that they had a job to do, and standing in their way was No. 21 Amherst, the first half of their Little Three competition. The Cardinals’ last win against Amherst came in the 2015 NESCAC Quarterfinals, and just as they did against the Panthers, Wes wanted to break through the Mammoth curse.
In the 37th minute, Jennings sent a pass across the box to the awaiting foot of Londergan, who hit it in for his second goal in as many games. The Mammoths did not give in to the 1–0 margin and tied it up 10 minutes into the second half. The Mammoths continued to outshoot the Cards, but in the 77th minute, Wes was awarded a free kick and made the most of the opportunity, with Saeed taking the kick and Wheeler receiving the ball at the far post before putting it in for a 2–1 lead. This lead would hold, with Blanc making huge defensive plays down the stretch to ensure the victory and break another decade-long streak.
“You could tell early on that there was a sentiment of excitement and nervousness, but [also] calmness, in the locker room,” Feldman said. “Amherst won the national championship last year, but if we stick to what we are, everything else will take care of itself. Getting to see everybody and celebrate with the alumni was really a special moment.”
Up next for Wes was Trinity, against whom the Cards had had some success. While they were in the middle of a very successful season—sitting at 5–2–2 overall and 3–0–2 in conference—nothing had come easy to the Cards, whose previous eight games had been decided by one goal or less. Against the Bantams, the floodgates opened. The scorching-hot Londergan opened up the game with a goal at the two minute mark to get the early lead, and about 15 minutes later, Cash gave them an insurance goal, sending the ball into the left corner for a 2–0 lead. The Bantams pushed on offense and, early in the second half, got a goal back to get within striking distance, but quickly Londergan struck again off a rebound to get the lead back to two. He was not done, and in the 70th minute the ball settled in front of him before he sent it bouncing off the crossbar and into the net for a hat trick and 4–1 lead. Londergan was the first Cardinal with a hat trick since 2015 and received NESCAC Player of the Week for an insane run of five goals in three games.
“What was most telling about that was obviously moments of brilliance from Aiden, but at the same time, the preparation and focus that we had going into it was something that was super important and sometimes is lost,” Feldman said.
Standing between the Cards and the Little Three Championship was an Oct. 11 road matchup with No. 1 ranked Williams. The last time Wes had played in Williamstown, the Ephs knocked them out of the NESCAC Quarterfinals, so the Cards wanted to make a statement and show that they had what it took to be a national-level contender. Londergan’s ridiculous streak continued against the Ephs with him putting the Cards up a goal 15 minutes in, his sixth in four games. Williams threw everything they had at the Cards, outshooting them 6–5 in the first half, but Blanc saved all three shots that got to him, and the defense was lockdown. In the second half, the Cardinals took a lot of pressure being outshot 11–2, but again the defense was stellar, stopping everything the Ephs threw their way. Blanc finished the day with a seven-save shutout in the 1–0 win. With that, the Cards secured the Little Three Championship.
While the Cards celebrated, they emphasized that there was still a lot of soccer to be played.
“Beating Amherst and Williams, two of the best teams in the country, that doesn’t happen every year,” Blanc said. “But just keep moving, because that’s the first thing. That’s a small hurdle. There’s hurdles that get bigger and bigger. And so it’s not the highlight of the season, it’s gonna be one of them, not the highlight. There’s a lot more building.”
The Cards took on Bowdoin for their senior day, riding a five-game win streak. Unfortunately, Wes was not able to get it done, going down to an early goal, which would be the decider in a 0–1 loss, but they are anything but deterred.
It has already been an incredible season for the program, and out of a young group of players who did not know each other’s playstyles has emerged a cohesive unit capable of giving 100% for all 90 minutes.
“What we may have done as individual defensive and attacking units earlier on the year has now developed into a system of, ‘If we need to defend, we’re all gonna do it,’ and everybody has a role,” Feldman said. “It should be so difficult to get past our first line of defense, which is our attackers.”
Sitting at 8–3–2 and 5–1–2 in conference, the Cards sit at second in the NESCAC with only two remaining matches before the NESCAC Championships. Tomorrow, they will take on Colby on the road, and then finish the regular season at home against Conn. College on Oct. 28. The Cards are not satisfied with regular season success alone.
“I’m grateful to be part of this team,” Blanc said. “It’s our year. What we can accomplish and what we will accomplish: We’ll make sure that those are the same.”
Ethan Lee can be reached at ejlee@wesleyan.edu.
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