BRUNSWICK, Me. – In a game dominated by the two defenses, the Wesleyan football team got a big 4^th down stop late in the fourth quarter before icing away a 17-14 victory on a 4^th down conversion at midfield in the closing minutes to defeat Bowdoin on Saturday afternoon from Whittier Field. Wesleyan (5-1) wins their third straight game and sits tied atop the NESCAC standings with Middlebury and Trinity heading into Week 7.
 
With the Cardinals leading 17-14 and 5:53 remaining, Bowdoin started a drive at their own 23-yard line looking to mount a late comeback. The Polar Bears converted a 3^rd-and-9 early in the drive and crossed midfield as the clock wound under four minutes to play. After a crucial drop from Jed Hoggard on 3^rd down, Robbie Long missed Hoggard on a 4^th-and-7 play from the Cardinals' 39-yard line.
 
Wesleyan took over at their own 39 with two minutes remaining and despite a false start to start the possession, QB Niko Candido '25 hit WR Chase Wilson '25 for a 14-yard pickup on 3^rd-and-15 to set up a 4^th-and-1 from the Wesleyan 48-yard line. With Bowdoin out of timeouts, the Cardinal offense stayed on the field to try and win the game on offense, and that decision paid off as RB James McHugh '26 gained five yards on the ground lock in a hard-fought win.
 
On a day where the two sides combined for 17 punts, both defenses came through time and time again in this one. Wesleyan held two Bowdoin quarterbacks to just 9-for-25 on their attempts while safety Nick Donatio G'25 recorded his first career interception as a Cardinal. And after struggling on special teams the past few weeks, Wesleyan's punt unit pinned Bowdoin inside the 20-yard line five times while Gage Hammond '27 hit a field goal from 37-yards out, a new career-long for the sophomore.
 
Hammond's 37-yarder came with 3:04 left in the first quarter, giving Wesleyan a 3-0 lead heading into the second. Bowdoin, however, answered with chunk yardage on the ground on a possession midway through the second quarter. After gains of 13, 12, and 17 yards on the ground, Robbie Long punched in a touchdown from one yard out to give the Polar Bears a 7-3 lead.
 
After ending six straight possessions with punts, the Cardinal offense suddenly came to life towards the end of the third quarter. On a 3^rd-and-11 play, Candido completed a 14-yard pass to WR Blake Newcomb '27. Then on the next play, McHugh ran one in from 56 yards out, a new career-long run for the junior.
 
The Cardinal defense forced another punt on the next Bowdoin series and followed with another TD-scoring drive to make it a two-score game. Candido started the drive with a 10-yard rush and later found Newcomb for a 44-yard bomb on 3^rd-and-8, setting up the Cardinals with 1^st-and-8 from the Bowdoin 9-yard line. Two plays later, it was 3^rd-and-goal from the Bowdoin 5-yard line, and McHugh got the call and again delivered a touchdown to make it 17-7 Cardinals.
 
Bowdoin's Robbie Long answered back with pass plays of 23 and 60 yards to Luke Watson, the latter of which was a touchdown-scoring play to cut the deficit to 17-14, setting the stage for the late sequences that resulted in a Wesleyan win.
 
The stats were almost level across the board as Bowdoin gained 251 yards of offense compared to 250 for Wesleyan. Bowdoin outgained Wesleyan 103-97 on the ground while the Cardinals threw for 153 yards and the Polar Bears had 148.
 
McHugh gained 75 yards on 13 carries and scored both Wesleyan touchdowns for his first career multi-score game. Wilson caught four balls for 61 yards to lead the receiving unit. Candido finished 10-for-20 for 153 yards and was sacked eight times, but he managed to play turnover-free for the duration of the game.
 
LB Jake Edwards '24, G'25 led the Cardinal defense with seven tackles (six solo) while DL Jake Karmin '27 had one sack and DL Mike Rowan '25, DL Jason Villano '25, and DL Dean Sokaris '26 all finished with one tackle for loss.
 
Next up for Wesleyan is a Little Three showdown at Amherst next Saturday at 1 PM.