After two overtimes, the men’s soccer team came away with its first win of the season on Wednesday, against a Springfield team that refused to give in. The win came on the heels of a Saturday battle with Williams that ended because of weather interference.
Although last year’s NESCAC champs were heavily favored, the aptly named Pride of Springfield played Wesleyan tough. In the end, however, it was a 2-1 Cardinal victory, propelled by the game-winning goal by tri-captain Jared Ashe ’07.
The first half of Wednesday’s game was full of excitement for the small but vocal band of Wesleyan athletic supporters in attendance. In the 19th minute, Adrian Shippers of Springfield slipped one by Wesleyan goalkeeper Matt Gnall ’08 for an unassisted goal, one of only two shots on goal for the Pride in the first half.
Although the Cardinals put together six shots on goal in the first half, the first to reach the back of the net occurred right before halftime, as Matt Nevin ’09 scored off a Morgan Owen ’07 cross assist in the 39th minute.
The first half score hardly represented the balance of the game, as Wesleyan was on the attack consistently. Although they had eight corners in the first half to Springfield’s one, the Cards were unable to finish more than once. Going into the second half tied at one, Wesleyan hoped to pull away in the final 45 minutes. Springfield held tough, however, and the second half was a virtual stalemate.
After dominating shots on goal in the first half, the tally was even at four apiece in the second. It was the same story when it came to corners, with Wesleyan barely edging the Pride 4-3 in that category.
“[The team] needs to work on aggressiveness and determination in the final third of the field,” said David Baharestani ’07.
In the overtime periods, Wesleyan’s experience got the best of the of Springfield. A senior dominated team, the Cards know each other well, which is the most important thing when the game gets to crunch time.
Senior tri-captains Jared “Ur Boy” Ashe, Peter Glidden, and Dave “The Body” Baharestani have been playing together for four years and have been joined by standout underclassmen Mike Walker ’08, Nevin, and Gnall. This is a reshaped veteran team, and despite some position changes, the squad looks to be as cohesive as ever.
Ashe, a former striker, showed off his scoring ability with 2:24 left in the second overtime when he took advantage of a loose ball in Springfield’s box following a free kick to win it for Wesleyan. In the two overtime periods, Wesleyan put seven shots on goal to Springfield’s one.
Although happy with the win, the team knows it will have to step up its game when the tough NESCAC season starts. On Saturday at 2 p.m., the Cards take on Trinity in the home opener.
“Someone needs to step up and put the ball in the net,” Chris Brown ’07 said. “We set ourselves up well and put ourselves in great positions to score. We just need to work on capitalizing on that.”
Once this missing piece is found, the team looks like it will have another stellar year.
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