MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – After over 600 days between games, the anticipation was at an all-time high for the first game on the Wesleyan Athletics' 2021-22 calendar. Luckily for the 300+ Cardinal fans in-attendance, they were gifted a tremendous performance as cheers rained down throughout Wesleyan men's soccer's 2-0 win over Emerson on Tuesday night.

Both Wesleyan goals were scored by underclassmen playing in their first career game as Dane Harmaty '24 put home a penalty kick in the 10^th minute while Zach Wheeler '25 later finished a sensational sequence with a right-footed rocket into the bottom right corner. Liam Devanny '23 turned aside four Emerson shots on-target for his sixth career clean sheet in 16 career games. The win also marked the first season-opening victory for Wesleyan since 2017.
 

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Play was back-and-forth in the first five minutes, with each side generating a shot on-goal but it was the Cardinals who struck first as Wheeler drew a foul a few feet in the box which resulted in a yellow card for Emerson's Aaron Tyler. Harmaty then stepped to the spot, sent the keeper the wrong way and fired home the opening goal.
• The Lions pushed back in the next 10 minutes to follow the Harmaty penalty kick as RJ Dziejma and Ben Deeming both landed shots on-target but Devanny was there to make saves on each attempt.
• After the 17^th minute, both sides combined for just one shot on-goal as the defenses took over for the reminder of the opening half.
• Looking for an insurance tally, Wesleyan made a strong push in the opening 10+ minutes of the second half and that pressure paid off with Wheeler firing in his first career goal in the 57^th minute. Lucas Ruehlemann '25 started the play lofting a pass over the Wheeler on the left wing. The first-year shook off the Emerson right back, dribbled just inside the box and touched to a right-footed curling shot which he blasted home past a diving Jacob Ramer into the lower right corner.
• A third Wesleyan goal nearly came in the 86^th minute as Ruehlemann fired in a looping shot from distance that hit the lower half of the crossbar but did not cross the goal line and came to the waiting hands of Ramer in net.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Wesleyan outshot Emerson 21-6 for the game and 9-4 in shots on-target with the Cardinals holding a massive 11-1 advantage in shots in the second half
• Both goals and the one assist (Ruehlemann) came from underclassmen in the win
• Ruehlemann outshot the entire Emerson team as he posted eight shot attempts (three on-target) in 79 minutes at the striker position
• Harmaty, Wheeler, Lucas Kimball '22, Steven Donovan '24 and Soren Tollis '25 each tallied at least two shots in the contest
• The Wesleyan center back tandem of Miles Lambke '25 and Nick Wallick '22 played the full 90 minutes and combined with Devanny to pitch the clean sheet
• Of the 20 Cardinals to see the field, 13 were underclassmen

NEXT UP:
Wesleyan begins a daunting three-game NESCAC road swing with a Saturday showdown at Middlebury. The Cardinals' last win over the Panthers came back in 2013 as Middlebury is 5-0-3 in the last eight meetings.