MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Wesleyan men's soccer team was defeated by Hamilton, 2-0, on Sunday afternoon on a rain-soaked Jackson Field. Wesleyan (3-1-2, 0-1-2 NESCAC) remains winless in NESCAC play while the Continentals (2-3-2, 1-3-1 NESCAC) pick up their first league win of the season.
 
Hamilton jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 1:41 into play as Jude Rouhana struck with a right-footed shot from just outside the box. A turnover from Wesleyan proved costly as the ball pinged off a couple of foots over to Rouhana who slid the ball onto his right foot and made no mistake with an in-swinging shot that found the upper right corner.
 
The Continentals made it 2-0 just 38 seconds into the second half as a long ball played from Luke Peplowski found Aedan Burke sprinting up the right wing. With a couple of runners in the middle occupying Cardinal goalkeeper Mathis Blanc '26, Burke took an attempt at goal from a difficult angle but he managed to sneak it past an unsuspecting Blanc who was positioned expecting a cross.
 
Wesleyan grew into the match as play continued but two prime scoring chances were thwarted by Hamilton goalkeeper Kai Haesslein. The first came in the 55^th minute as a cross to the far post found Soren Tollis '25 who headed the ball down and inside the left post, but Haesslein made a diving stop to his right.
 
Then late on with just under two minutes remaining, Evan O'Brien '24 had a header from deep inside the box that Haesslein somehow managed to push over the crossbar and keep the Cardinals off the scoreboard and secure the shutout for the visitors.
 
The Cardinals begin a three-game road swing with a mid-week clash against Tufts on Wednesday at 7 PM.