A successful regular season placed the Wesleyan men’s soccer team #2 in the NESCAC—three spots higher than the previous season—and gave Wes the opportunity to host in the first round of playoffs. Although their offense was clicking with a 21–11 regular season scoring margin, the Cardinals had a three-game winless streak going into postseason play.
Having never won a NESCAC playoff game in their time at Wes, the Red and Black wanted to change the narrative of the program (Wesleyan’s last NESCAC playoff win came in 2015). Their first opponent was #7 Amherst College.
Aiden Londergan ’27 explained the team’s mentality.
“Our energy was high…. [After] beating them earlier in the season, we had confidence going into that first game,” Londergan said.
Yousuf Saeed ’27 opened the scoring early with his fifth goal of the season in the 18th minute. Ford Cash ’29 sent a low cross across the box, and Saeed was able to one-time it into the bottom left corner. It wasn’t free flying from there for the Cardinals; Amherst was able to go up 2–1, with one goal right before half and the second in the 60th minute.
In the 80th minute, defenseman John SennMcNally ’28 slotted it to Joshwin Jennings ’27 at the top of the box. Jennings took one touch to settle, another to turn, and a third to set up his shot. On his fourth, he powered it into the right side upper ninety. The tying goal would’ve sent the game into extra time, but the Cardinals were relentless. With 14 seconds left on the clock, Londergan pulled off what he called his best moment of soccer ever. On the right sideline, Jennings was once again able to send a beautiful cross across the pitch. Cash got a head on it, and it bounced to Londergan, who took a touch and placed it into the right side netting.
“Winning a game in the playoffs, beating Amherst, and then scoring in the last 15 seconds with my mom and family who flew in from Illinois [on the sidelines] is definitely something,” Londergan said.
It was great that his family was able to make it to not only the Amherst game, but to any game in Londergan’s breakout season. Due to injuries, he wasn’t able to play much his freshman year, and going into this season, his goal was to score two goals. He wrapped the season as the leading goal scorer with eight goals and three assists.
The next weekend, the Red and Black had to face an obstacle they weren’t able to overcome, with a semifinal matchup against Conn. College, who they tied in the last game of the regular season. Using what they learned from their first game, they knew the Camels would possess much more than Amherst, so the early press would be key. Conn. was able to get two goals within eight minutes of the starting whistle. Late in the 89th minute, Dylan Clack ’27 got one to soften the blow of defeat, slipping it past the goalkeeper from a cross by Saeed.
Zach Feldman ’27 said the consolation goal showed potential for the Cards.
“It showed us that when we’re at our best, we are capable of winning games like that,” Feldman said. “Obviously, in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t mean too much, but leading into our next game, it was big to grab one for the morale and the confidence of the team.”
As the NESCAC season wound to a close, the Red and Black racked up postseason awards. Head coach Geoff Wheeler and staff won Coaching Staff of the Year for the fourth time after their successful season at the helm of the Cards. Feldman earned his second All-NESCAC honor and his first First Team award. Londergan, Saeed, Jennings, and goalkeeper Mathis Blanc ’26 all earned their first All-NESCAC honors, with Blanc making Second Team and the rest making First.
As the NESCAC Playoffs came to a close, Wes set its sights on the NCAA tournament, where they expected to have a strong seed based on their success throughout the season. As the selections were released, the Cards were thrilled to see that Jackson Field would host the first two rounds of the tournament, and they’d start their nationals journey in front of the home crowd.
Their first round matchup pitted them against the Lehman College Lightning. With a win, they would face the winner of Rowan University and Bridgewater State University the next day. It had already been a rainy weekend by the time the Cardinals and Lightning kicked off on Saturday, Nov. 15, making for variable conditions for a weekend on Jackson Field.
The Cardinals got the scoring started early, as dishes from Cash and Clack set up Riley Harvey ’29 for a header and a 1–0 Wes lead. But that was only the beginning for the Red and Black. Jennings and Saeed added onto the Cardinals’ lead, followed by Niall Fergus’ ’27 first college goal, that put Wes up 4–0 headed into half.
The second half was more of the same. It only took 53 seconds for Londergan to break free and find the back of the net to make it 5–0. While the Cards let up one goal in the 53rd minute, they kept up their offensive success, as Chris Bates ’29 scored his first career goal and Will Martin ’26 tacked on two more in the final 10 minutes of action. From the moment the match began, the Red and Black knew they were in the driver’s seat, and they cruised to an 8–1 victory.
“It’s been 10 years since we hosted NCAA games on Jackson, and the opportunity to play in front of our own fans on our field was great,” Feldman said. “It was also just a cool environment, right? It gave us a bit of an advantage and that we knew the surface we were playing on, and the grass was a bit beaten up from much of the year, but it was awesome.”
After a bit of rest and a lot more rain, the Cardinals went to battle against Rowan, who were coming off a tight 1–0 victory against Bridgewater State. The field conditions were much more of a factor on Sunday, as the slick surface made it difficult for players to plant their feet and make sharp cuts.
The Cards and the Profs traded strong offensive and defensive pushes for the entire first half, with neither team budging. As the first half came to a close, a routine pass back to Blanc in goal slipped off him, allowing a Rowan player to pass by the All-NESCAC goalkeeper and put the Red and Black down 0–1.
After the unfortunate goal at the end of the first, the Cardinals re-entered the field determined to equalize their defensive mishap. As Rowan bounced back from an early offensive push by the Cards, the ball found the foot of Rowan’s Johnny Troiano, who scored his 19th goal of the season and brought the deficit to two.
While the Red and Black had some strong possessions, the shots weren’t falling, and their season came to a close by way of a 0–2 loss to the Profs.
“Players on both sides of the ball couldn’t really build up a good offense because of those conditions,” Clack said. “So it ended up coming down to a couple bounces instead of some moments of quality that we have been lucky to find during the season. It was unfortunate, but it happens. That’s the nature of sports.”
The 2025 season overall will be viewed as a raging success for the Cardinals, as this was the best campaign any current player on the team has been a part of. Harvey, Londergan, Blanc, and Saeed were all named NESCAC Player of the Week at different points in the season, and the Red and Black ranked as high as No. 3 in the country. While it may not have been the postseason outcome Wes wanted, it was certainly a strong season on the pitch for the men’s soccer team.
“I’m really excited for all of us to go at it one last time,” Clack said. “If we come into next year with the engine going and do what we were supposed to have done in the off-season, then the sky’s the limit.”
Max Forstein can be reached at mforstein@wesleyan.edu.
Payton Radosti can be reached at pradosti@wesleyan.edu.
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