AMHERST, MA. – The No. 7 Wesleyan men's soccer team fell in NESCAC quarterfinal action, 1-0, to No. 2 Amherst College on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 28, from Hitchcock Field in a rematch of the 2022 NESCAC quarterfinal. Despite outshooting Amherst 11-6, Wesleyan was not able to find the back of the net and end their season 5-6-5 overall, 1-3-3 in the NESCAC.

The Mammoths (11-2-3 overall, 6-1-3 NESCAC) opened the scoring early, netting their only goal in the eighth minute as Niall Murphy nailed the shot off a corner kick. Mohammed Nuhu earned the assist. The first half was a battle of the defenses, as was the regular season matchup between these teams. The Cardinals and the Mammoths saw near even stats through the first 45 minutes of action with a save each with the Cardinals just edging out the Mammoths in a 5-4 shot count. The Mammoths still held the Cardinals to only one shot on goal by Dylan Clack '27.

The second half of the match was far more physical than the first with eight yellow cards being distributed across both teams, four each. Again, the Cardinals outshot the Mammoths 6-4, but the Mammoths defense held the Cardinals to only one shot on goal as they did in the first. Zack Burd's '25 scoring attempt came at 84:13 after the Cardinals were awarded a free kick. Burd's last three goals have been in one-on-one scoring chances, and he was substituted in to take the kick but Max Landa made the save.

Josh Nadison '26 got the starting gig in goal for the Cardinals and made three saves. Landa, in goal for the Mammoths, made two saves.

Evan O'Brien '24, Chris Porte '25, Will Geballe '26, and Yousuf Saeed '27 lead the Cardinals with a full 16 starts each. O'Brien and Porte recorded over 1,400 minutes of playing time. Lucas Ruehlemann '25 finished with five goals and 10 points to lead the Cardinals in scoring while six Cardinals all recorded an assist apiece. Mathis Blanc '26 finishes with a 5-2-3 record in goal in 10 starts, recording five shutouts and 18 saves.