Cardinals Kick Off Fall Athletic Season With a Bang

As Wesleyan’s Non-Athletic Regular Persons (NARPs, for short) return to campus, relaxing in their cozy dorms and enjoying a life of idyllic academic bliss, the athletes of campus have been hard at work, kicking off the start of the fall athletic season with several shows of dominance. This week, The Argus brings you a recap of the season so far, taking a look at the storylines to follow as the season moves along.

Women’s Soccer:

Women’s soccer is off to a phenomenal start. Thus far, they have a record of 4–1, and have gone from being unranked to the 6th-ranked team in the nation. After the graduation of two-time United Soccer Association All-American Goalkeeper Molly Brumbach ’26, the team looked to carry on her legacy. Goalkeeper Marley Hansard ’29 took on the challenge in stride, starting all five games for the Cards and recorded a stunning .36 Goals Against Average. 

With Hansard taking care of the net, the Cards were able to offensively dominate. Their first game, played on Saturday, Sept. 5, was against a familiar NESCAC competitor, the Middlebury Panthers. The Cards went up 1–0 in the first six minutes with a goal from Harper Cohn ’30 and never looked back. Maria Utz ’27 added two more and Lanee Farr ’27 scored one. The Panthers eventually broke through in the 84th minute, but at that point, it was too late to generate any substantial offense. 

The Red and Black carried the momentum into their next three games, defeating Clark 4–3, Smith College 4–0, and Stevens 6–1. Against Stevens, the Cards boasted six different scorers: Beatrix Delaney ’27, Taylor Hill ’28, Rachel Katz ’28, Meredith Feiner ’28, Romi Schreiber ’28, and Sheridan Snow ’28. 

Utz has been leading the offense with six goals, including a hat trick against Smith. Utz was last year’s leading scorer, with 10 goals, and returned this year as a senior captain. Already only four behind last year’s tally, she looks to continue her rampage heading into the rest of the season and NESCAC play.

The Cards were handed their first loss by No. 2 seed Tufts University on Tuesday, Sept. 15. Two early goals were enough for the Jumbos to secure the lead, but the Cards will look to bounce back and continue their NESCAC play in Brunswick, Maine versus the Bowdoin Polar Bears this Saturday, Sept. 19 at 12:30 p.m. 

Men’s Soccer: 

Men’s Soccer begins the season with a score of 3–0–1, punctuated by a win vs. NESCAC foe Tufts on Wednesday, Sept. 9th. The Jumbos, the reigning National Champions, came into Middletown already ranked No. 1 with an undefeated record. After a scoreless first half, Yousuf Saeed ’27 made it 1–0 for the Cardinals in the 52nd minute, and the lead was solidified by Aiden Londergan ’27 in the 82nd minute on a penalty kick. 

After losing three-year starter Mathis Blanc ’26, the goal-keeper job was up for grabs. Despite an absence from the first game, Sam Adiutori ’28 shined against Tufts recording five saves to keep the Cards in the game. 

Saeed’s performance was more than enough to earn his first career NESCAC player of the week. Additionally, Saeed was honored as the National DIII Player of the Week by Top Drawer Soccer. 

Besides Tufts, the Cards have snagged non-conference wins versus Springfield (3–2) and Swarthmore (5–2). Versus Springfield, the Cards went into the half tied; Ford Cash ’29 eventually broke it open in the 75th minute. Against Swarthmore the Cards showed a balanced offense, with five different goal scorers getting in on the action: Saeed, Cash, Joshwin Jennings ’27, Dylan Clack ’27, and Sam Wheeler ’27. The Cardinals also tied Brandeis University 0–0. Despite the Cards’ 16 shots, none were able to find the back of the net. Adiutori held strong in the cage, making five saves to earn another clean sheet. 

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, the Cards will return to their top three goal scorers in Londergan (8), Saeed (6) and Jennings (5). This senior trio looks to lead the team with an aggressive offense this fall. 

Alongside women’s soccer, the Cards continue their season against Bowdoin in Brunswick, Maine on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 12:30 p.m. 

Field Hockey:

Field Hockey is coming off their first-ever trip to the Elite 8 with high expectations, being ranked #10 overall. Despite the loss of starting goalie Audrey Pace ’26, Caroline Chung ’28 and Keira O’Flynn ’29 have combined to only allow one goal through the Cards’ first three games.

In their first game against WPI, the match remained scoreless until the 2nd quarter, when Brooke Miner ’28 tallied the first goal of the game and season. The game remained 1–0 until the 4th quarter when Emily Smith ’29 and Natalie Shaw ’28 each added a goal. This combined shoutout led the Red and Black to a 3–0 victory.

Then at Vassar, the Red and Black took an early lead with a goal from Marley Procopio ’29. That proved to be all they needed as O’Flynn and the defense kept Vassar from scoring, leading to a 1–0 victory.

The Cards headed to Bristol, R.I. to play Roger Williams. After a scoreless first quarter, the Red and Black got career-first goals from Izzy Ounjian ’30 and Bridget FitzGerald ’30. Chung surrendered a 3rd quarter goal, but that was all she and O’Flynn would combine to surrender. A goal from Teddy Tolbert ’28 polished off a 3–1 win for the Cards, marking the team’s third straight road victory to start the season. 

The 3–0 Cards travel to Maine this Saturday to start their NESCAC play against #15 Bowdoin at 11 a.m.

Volleyball:

Volleyball has gotten off to a hot start this season. The Cards started their season at the Heron Invitational and defeated Oswego State 3–0 with Mila Chan ’28 and Carly Grumet ’28 leading the team with eight kills each. In their second game of the day, the Cards defeated SUNY Genesco 3–0 off the backs of Siena Steines’ ’28 team-leading nine kills. 

In their final match of the Invitational, the Cards played against hosts William Smith. They won the first set 25–16, though the Herons rebounded, winning the second and third sets 25–16 and 25–23. In the fourth set, the Cards fought back and won 25–20 to force the tie-breaking set. The Red and Black started the set with a 3–4 deficit, but a 7–0 run led by key kills and blocks from India Clark ’28 and Fiona LaCamera ’27 led to a 15–7 set win and 3–2 match win over the Herons. Steines, for her efforts over the weekend, was named Heron Invitational MVP and NESCAC player of the week. 

In their home opener against Swarthmore, the Cards started slow, trailing 6–10, but key kills from Chan helped propel them to a 25–20 first-set victory. It was a back-and-forth affair in the second set, but they squeezed out a close 25–23 second set victory. In the third set, an 8–1 run led the Cards to a 25–16 third-set victory and a sweep of Swarthmore. 

The Cards then traveled up to Worcester, Mass. to play WPI and Plymouth State. Against WPI, the first set was a back-and-forth affair. But, three consecutive kills by Steines, Clark and Chan sealed the 25–22 set victory. The Cards then took the second set 25–15 before a third set in which the Cards came out on top 25–21, leading to a 3–0 sweep of the Engineers.

In their second game of the day against Plymouth State, the Cards rode a 15–3 start to a 25–14 set victory. The second set proved to be more difficult but the Red and Black still managed to pull out a 25–23 victory. In the third set, an 8–0 run led by Grumet serving helped the Cards cruise to a 25–12 victory and a third consecutive sweep.  

The 6–0 Cards start their NESCAC play this Friday, Sept. 18 against Hamilton in Silloway at 7 p.m. for Senior Week. 

Men’s Cross Country:

Men’s Cross Country made an impressive season debut, taking the Little Three Championship title this past Saturday, Sept. 12 for the first time since 1984. Dylan Cote ’28 led the Cards to the finish line, winning the individual 6K with a time of 18:16.8, clearing the runner-up by more than six seconds. Cote was named the first DIII National Athlete of the Week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association after his win.

The Cards and Williams Ephs battled to the very end, with Wesleyan securing the win through a Top 5 head-to-head tiebreaker, with the Red and Black securing three wins. Amherst came in third with 44 points. 

Following Cote, Zach Allen ’27 placed sixth and Noah Mahoney ’27 placed seventh in the 6K. First-year Brendan Quinn ’30 and sophomore Emmett Leachman ’28 finished 8th and 17th respectively with remarkable season openers.

With the excitement of this win, the Cards look forward to hosting the 2026 Cardinal Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 19.

Women’s Cross County:

Women’s cross country also hit it off with a spectacular showing at the Little Three Championship, finishing second with 43 points, just short of Williams and beating Amherst. 

First-year Ava Bullock ’30 took the lead, placing third in the 4K with a speedy 15:02.6, with Clara Shingler ’30 following suit with a 15:12.3 to take fifth place. 

The Cards dominated the scoreboard with Julia Robison ’29, Logan Ignacio ’30, Chase Cerrell ’28, and Bella Migliore ’28 scoring points for the Red and Black. 

The women take this adrenaline into the 2026 Cardinal Invitational this coming Saturday, excited to see what comes next with a stacked first-year class. 

Men’s Golf:

Men’s golf team looks to pick up from where they left off last Spring following their first program tournament win in team history. This past weekend the team traveled up to Middlebury, Vt. for the Duke Nelson Invitational. 

The Cards started strong leading after day one posting a +12. That was off the backs of a 72 from Michael Jones ’30, a 73 from Johnathan Harlukowicz ’27, a 75 from Gavin Sendar ’28, and a 76 from Peier Li ’30. 

Day two’s conditions proved to be far more difficult, though the Cards posted a +25 leading to a +37 for the two-day tournament. Harlukowicz finished the tournament tied for fourth place with a +6  while Jones finished tied for eighth place with +7. This landed them in fifth place ahead of six NESCAC teams. This marked the Cards’ best finish at the Duke Nelson Tournament in team history. 

Off the backs of this historic week, the Cards travel to Williamstown, Mass. this weekend for the Williams Invitational. 

Women’s Golf:

Following their promising season last year, women’s golf returned this past weekend at the Polar Bear Shootout in Brunswick, Maine. 

Amanda Phillips ’28 ended the first day in first place with a strong 69 leading the Cards to a 10th place posting a +18. Phillips’ 18-hole score is the best in program history. 

On day two, The Red and Black posted a +21 day 2 score for an overall tournament score of +39 and a 10th place finish. Meanwhile, Phillips picked up where she left off scoring a 73 leading to her being tied for first place. Phillips’ medal is only the second in the Cards’ program history. 

The Cards continue their season up at Middlebury, Vt. for the George Phinney Classic on Saturday, Sept. 19 and Sunday, Sept. 20.

Football:

The Cards have been training relentlessly to live up to their 7–2 conference record from the 2025 season, where they shared the NESCAC championship title with Trinity and finished the season with an electric 31–28 win last fall over the Bantams. Additionally, for the first time in history, the Cards will fight for a spot in the NCAA Division III football playoffs. 

The Cards return with last year’s NESCAC Offensive Player of the Year, quarterback Matt Fitzsimons ’27 and NESCAC Rookie of the Year, wide receiver Donte Kelly ’29.

The Cards look forward to their season opener at Middlebury this Saturday, looking to win their third consecutive conference title and make it to the NCAA Division III football playoffs.

Alessandra Woo can be reached at aawoo@wesleyan.edu.

Benjamin Mayer can be reached at bmayer@wesleyan.edu. 

Leila Feldman can be reached at lfeldman01@wesleyan.edu.