MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Wesleyan men's soccer competed against NESCAC opponent Williams on their Senior Day Saturday afternoon. They played their conference foe to a tie in their 90 minutes of competition. After a scoreless first half, the Ephs struck first in the second but were quickly followed by a Lucas Ruehlemann '25 equalizer. Wesleyan would have chances to put it away in the end of regulation, but the Ephs defense held and the game ended in a draw. With the tie, Williams moves to 4-1-7 (2-1-4 NESCAC). Wesleyan is now 6-3-3 (3-2-3 NESCAC).

Ruehlemann is no stranger to scoring important game-tying goals during his time here at Wesleyan. Last year, as a first-year player, the forward delivered a big game-tying goal against No. 13 Amherst to tie the game at two. The contest eventually ended in a tie after two overtimes. That late score sparked a five-game winning streak for the Cardinals. Wesleyan has struggled against the Ephs over the years, not having beaten their conference opponents since 2011. The Cards however, have taken Williams to overtime/tied in six of their past seven meetings including Saturday.
 
Wesleyan came out and seemed to control the early part of the first half, holding the Ephs without a shot while producing four of their own. Wesleyan's best chance of the first half came just seconds into the game when Kyle Burbage '25 got a head on a cross that had to be dealt with by Ben Diffley. The Ephs went without a shot in the first half, but the bend but don't break defense held the game tied at zero.

The second half started similar to the first, with Wesleyan creating multiple shots and scoring chances while holding Williams without a shot attempt. Then in the 72^nd minute, on Williams' second shot of the game, the Ephs put one in the back of the net first. Capitalizing on a counter-attack, Jake Saudek controlled a through ball and sent it back across the field for a waiting Henry Kirkman who one-timed it past Liam Devanny '23.

After mass substitutions from Wesleyan, the Cardinals were quick to answer. Just four minutes later, in the 77^th minute Wesleyan found the equalizer. Phillip Cubeddu '23 maneuvered through the Ephs defense and into the box before delivering a beautiful cross to Ruehlemann who evened the score at one. Over the final 13 minutes, the teams only mustered a shot each to end in a 1-1 tie.

Wesleyan will return to action Tuesday October 18^th, where they will off against Springfield College in their final non-conference contest of the regular season.