Men’s soccer ties Bates, thrashes Western Conn.

Eleven games into the season, the Wesleyan men’s soccer team remains undefeated and playing at a level never before seen on a Wesleyan soccer field. After a tie at Bates this past Saturday and a 7-0 win against Western Connecticut State, the Cards (9-0-2, 5-0-1 NESCAC) head into the biggest weekend of the year with the kind of momentum teams dream about.

Ranked seventh in the nation, all of the team’s gears are moving in unison as it prepares for Amherst on Saturday and Williams on Sunday, a Little Three weekend series that promises to be an instant NESCAC classic.

In a season in which NESCAC opponents have fallen without much effort, Bates (5-5-1, 2-4-1 NESCAC) put up quite a fight, scoring two goals in the last 10 minutes. The game-tying tally came with just 11 seconds remaining.

It was a shock to the Cardinals, who thought they had the game wrapped up, and they would have if they had been able to clear the ball just once more.

Bates barraged the Wesleyan goal with shots all game, out-shooting the Cards 29-18, and managing to control the ball somewhat consistently against a team that prides itself on establishing the pace of the game with ball movement in the midfield. Neither team could put the ball in the net in either overtime, however, resulting in a tie that likely pleased Bates more than Wesleyan.

Bates striker Patrick Grater initiated the scoring in the ninth minute with an unassisted goal after his fancy footwork eluded Wesleyan defenders. The Cards came right back two minutes later to tie the game, as Nick Whipple ’10 scored his first career goal on an assist from tri-captain Jared Ashe ’07.

Wesleyan took the lead in the 38th minute on a goal from Red and Black scoring leader Matt Nevin ’09, his seventh of the season. Shortly after halftime the Cardinals put an insurance goal on the board with a Chris Brown ’07 header into the net off of a corner kick. Wesleyan dominated on corners, posting a 12-1 advantage.

The score stayed 3-1 until the 84th minute when Duane Pelz of Bates scored an unassisted goal to bring them within one of a tie. Bates had one last ditch effort in the final minute of the contest, controlling the ball in front of the Wesleyan goal. Ashe stole it back and cleared the ball to midfield, then pushed up himself. Wesleyan was unable to keep control, and a Bates midfielder pushed the ball right back into the box where the Bobcat offense outnumbered the Cardinal defense.

“Bates had all their guys up in the box with maybe 15 seconds left,” said Josh Stephens ’07. “They had an open shot after the ball had been bouncing around for a few seconds.”

George Carr scored the equalizer, sending the game to overtime in dramatic fashion. The teams played each other to a stalemate in overtime, each taking four shots and neither scoring.

Tuesday’s home game against Western Connecticut wasn’t much of a contest, and the most noteworthy incident wasn’t anything that affected the outcome of the game. A horrific collision between Dave Baharestani ’07 and Allie Levy ’09 left both players with concussions. It happened when Levy turned at full speed into Baharestani, who was also running hard. Baharestani hit Levy’s midsection, causing the internal bleeding and bruised gall bladder that forced Levy to spend the night in the hospital.

Aside from that jaw-dropping incident, the match saw Wesleyan put 26 shots on the board and score multiple goals. Tri-captain Peter Glidden ’07 and Brown both scored their third and fourth goals of the year in the 7-0 victory, while Jamie Hiteshew ’08 and Nick Boskovich ’10 teamed up for the shutout.

“We were pretty much able to score at will on these guys,” Brown said. “We’re just starting to hit our stride offensively, and it’s coming at just the right time.”

The Cards will need to have every part of the game working this weekend as they take on their two biggest rivals. These games feature the three best teams in New England, and all three are ranked in the top 25 in the country.

During Saturday’s homecoming festivities, they will take on Amherst, ranked 17th nationally, at home at 2 p.m. The team will then travel to Williamstown to take on the 12th-ranked Ephs on Sunday at 11 a.m.