MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Wesleyan football team leaned on its defense in a stellar performance on Saturday night as the Cardinals took down Tufts in a 20-9 win under the lights at Corwin Stadium. Wesleyan (2-0) avenges a 49-14 loss in Medford last season to the Jumbos (1-1) and increase their home winning streak against Tufts to six straight, having not lost to the Jumbos at home since 2005.
 
In front of nearly 4,000 fans, Wesleyan could not have gotten off to a better start as QB Niko Candido '25 took the opening snap and on the first offensive play of the game, launched a deep ball to WR Chase Wilson '25 who beat two Tufts defenders down the field, running into the end zone untouched after just nine seconds of play.
 
The Jumbos marched down the field on their first offensive series, getting to a 1^st-and-10 from the Wesleyan 11-yard line, but the Cardinal defense held up in close, with CB Sean Walker '25 making a crucial pass breakup on a throw into the end zone on 3^rd down.
 
Both defenses dominated the remainder of the half, as the two sides combined for four straight drives ending in punts before the Jumbos tied the score at 6-6 with a 32-yard Vaughn Seelicke field goal. Tufts again had the ball in the red zone, but the Cardinal defense came through and kept the Jumbos out of the end zone.
 
With the Cardinal offense sputtering, the Wesleyan defense continued to make big plays as DB Nick Donatio G'25 forced a fumble on a 1^st-and-10 play from the Wesleyan 35-yard line. Tufts RB Christian Shapiro had gained seven yards on the play before he was stripped by Donatio and the loose ball was recovered by LB Jake Edwards '24 as the Jumbos came up empty with the ball in Wesleyan territory.
 
Three minutes later, Tufts had was forced into a 3-and-out after LB Ben Carbeau '25 broke through the line of scrimmage and sacked Michael Berluti on 3^rd down. On the punt play, LB Austin Baker '27 got a hand in and blocked the punt which was recovered by AJ Morris '26 and returned 16 yards to the Tufts 14-yard line.
 
That special teams play injected some life into the crowd and after struggling to move the ball following the 75-yard Wilson TD to start the game, Wesleyan cashed in on the blocked punt as Candido rushed 12 yards and on the ensuing 1^st-and-goal play, RB Tyler Flynn '26 crashed through the line to give Wesleyan a lead heading into halftime.
 
After the Cardinal defense forced another 3-and-out to open the second half, Wesleyan's offense strung some positive yardage plays together and on a 2^nd-and-goal from the 11-yard line, Candido swung a short pass to his left that RB Angelo LaRose '27 secured and dove in to the end zone for his first career touchdown to make it 20-9 Wesleyan.
 
Neither team scored for the remainder of play, but it was not a game devoid of chances as Tufts attempted two field goals in the remaining 25+ minutes, with Seelicke missing from 49 and 37 yards. The Cardinal special teams unit came up big once again, as Baker forced Aundre Smith to fumble on a punt return which was recovered by Sean Cannon '27 at the Tufts 16-yard line.
 
No points were scored on the ensuing Cardinal offensive possession but with the block becoming more of a factor, Tufts retook possession with 3:20 remaining and trailing by 11. Berluti started the drive with a 45-yard bomb to Keller Rogers but the Cardinal secondary followed with a breakup from DB Dylan Connors '26 before CB Luke LaSaracina '25 snagged his first career interception with just 2:36 remaining to all but seal the win.
 
Needing just one first down on offense, RB James McHugh '26 put the game away as he rushed for 26 yards on a 3^rd-and-6 play, as all the Cardinals had to do was kneel twice for the final seconds to tick off the scoreboard.
 
In a dominating display from the Cardinal defense, Wesleyan held two-time All-NESCAC QB Michael Berluti to just 16-for-41 passing for 246 yards with 0 TD and 1 INT. The Jumbos ran for 121 yards on 32 carries but Wesleyan finished +2 in turnover margin which helped secure the win.
 
Carbeau finished the game with 11 tackles and two sacks, leading the Cardinal defense in both categories. LB Adam Elsais '25 had nine tackles while Donatio finished with eight stops including 1 TFL. Walker and CB Wesley Abraham '25 both finished with five tackles and three pass breakups. DL Jason Villano '25 had three quarterback hurries to lead the defensive line.
 
On offense, Candido went just 7-for-25 on his attempts but went for 152 yards on his seven completions and had 2 TD with 1 INT. Flynn led the ground game with 55 yards on 13 carries and 1 TD. LaRose rushed nine times for 34 yards and Candido had 23 yards on eight carries. As a team, Wesleyan carried 35 times for 135 yards.
 
Wesleyan is back at home in Week 3, looking to keep the unbeaten run to start the season intact with a visit from Bates at 1 PM.