CLINTON, NY. – Nationally ranked men's soccer was put to the test in New York this afternoon against the 19^th ranked, and also unbeaten, Hamilton Continentals. No. 9 Wesleyan found themselves down quickly in this one, trailing 1-0 after just eight minutes of action. The Cardinals were able to produce some shots on goal over the next 80+ minutes of action, but the Continentals defense turned them away. Eventually in the dying seconds of the 88^th minute, Evan O'Brien '25 headed in a free kick to silence the Clinton crowd on a rainy day at Love Field. Wesleyan remains undefeated, moving to 6-0-1 through their first seven games, their best start since 2006 where they started 7-0. No. 19 Hamilton moves to 6-0-1 (3-0-1 NESCAC).   

Evan O'Brien has a history of late game heroics against nationally ranked teams. Just four games ago, O'Brien and the Cardinals found themselves in another battle against another nationally ranked team in the 5^th ranked Tufts Jumbos. With the score tied at zero with only 10 minutes remaining, O'Brien came flying in to head in the go-ahead goal off a Cardinals free kick by Lucas Ruehlemann '25. O'Brien came through again Sunday afternoon in a déjà vu type moment, heading in a free kick with less than 10 minutes remaining against a ranked opponent. This time it was assisted by Phillip Cubeddu '23, netting the equalizer with just a minute and a half remaining.

It was a difficult start for the Cardinals, as the home team struck quickly. Hamilton had a nice through ball that led to a Jude Rouhana shot. Liam Devanny '23 stepped up and turned the shot away, however the rebound was tracked down by Griffin Weidner who put it through to give the Continentals an early lead at 1-0. Wesleyan threatened in the final five minutes of the half, producing four shots and a corner. The best chance of those was a Soren Tollis header that was touched over the bar by Continentals goalie. Ben Ziegler.

The Wesleyan offense applied pressure early in the second half. They created four straight shots from the 51^st minute to the 53^rd minute. They got a decent shot on goal, with Mason Davisson '23 getting one off in that span.

After that flurry of scoring chances during that span the Wesleyan offense struggled to put shots on goal. Wesleyan went without a shot on goal for over 25 minutes heading into the 87^th minute. With just three minutes remaining Wesleyan worked the ball down the field, creating a free kick from just outside the box. Cubeddu sent the ball into the box where it found a streaking O'Brien's head to even the score with just over a minute remaining.

O'Brein secures his 3^rd goal of the season, while Cubeddu continues his impressive start to 2022 with his team-leading 5^th assist. In goal Liam Devanny was stellar again, turning away six of the seven shots that were on target.

Wesleyan tries to continue their impressive start to the season in a home matchup against Middlebury next Saturday October 1^st.