WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. – After clinching the #5 seed in the NESCAC on Wednesday night, the Wesleyan men's soccer team saw their season come to an end in the NESCAC quarterfinal at the hands of #4 Williams College in a 2-1 overtime loss on Saturday afternoon from Cole Field.
Allowing just 95 seconds run on the clock from the opening kickoff, the No. 20 Ephs (10-3-3 overall, 5-3-2 NESCAC) wasted little time in breaking open the score. Positioned for a throw in, the Ephs' ball landed inside the box where it was headed to Sam Gibson on the outside and booted back into the left post for Ben Brown to tap it into the corner.
The Cardinals struck a minute later to tie the game up at one,
Yousuf Saeed '26 knocking in his third goal of the season. Driving the ball in from the midfield,
Will Martin '26 set the play for
Chris Porte '25 making his way across the box on the near side. Porte danced the ball around two Ephs' defenders in the low corner, passing to Saeed dead center to sink the shot. Both teams would be held scoreless for the remainder of the first half.
Not to be outdone, the Cardinals controlled the pacing of the second half, outshooting the Ephs 13-6 but could not register a second goal in the final 45 minutes of regulation time. Porte nearly put away a goal with three minutes to overtime, but his shot was sent high.
Overtime was tilted in the Cardinals' favor as the first period was run by the Cardinals defense.
Mathis Blanc '26 faced zero shots through the 10-minute period while the Cardinals put away seven on Ben Diffley. The Ephs would get the final word in the second overtime period. Awarded a yellow card free kick with 102 minutes on the clock, Andrew Coelho's shot won the game as it fell between the left post and Blanc and into the left ninety.
Blanc finished the afternoon with five saves in goal for the Cardinals. Diffley earned the win, making nine saves for the Ephs.
The Cardinals end their season with a 7-4-5 overall record, going 4-3-3 in the NESCAC. Porte ends the season as the Cardinals' points leader, posting three goals and two assists for eight points. Saeed and
Joshwin Jennings '27 join him with identical scoring records, three goals and an assist for seven points.
Zach Feldman '27 started in all 16 games this season, clocking in 1,414 minutes.
Seeing 16 starts in 16 games, Blanc finishes his junior season in goal with a 7-4-4 overall record with seven shutouts. Facing 137 shots, Blanc made 53 saves with a .791 save percentage.
