MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Wesleyan men's soccer team tallied a late goal to take the 2-1 win over Bowdoin on Saturday afternoon to open conference play.
 
The Polar Bears (1-1-0, 0-1-0 NESCAC) dropped their first game of NESCAC action after opening the season with win over Endicott on Wednesday afternoon. The Cardinals improve to 2-0-0 (1-0-0 NESCAC) and collected their fourth consecutive win over the Polar Bears dating back to 2011.
 
Bowdoin and Wesleyan opened the game with 30 scoreless minutes of play before Garrett Hardesty would break the stalemate and put the Cardinals ahead 1-0. Stealing the ball from the Bowdoin defense, Hardesty snuck past Bowdoin goalie Noah Safian to earn an open shot on net to put Wesleyan on top. The Polar Bears were outshot by a slim 4-3 margin in the opening half.
 
Sam White wasted little time in the second half before putting Bowdoin on the scoreboard and knotting the game at 1-1. Just 7:04 into the frame, White connected following a pass off the foot of Daniel Melong following the setup from Andrew Jones. The score remained tied until just seven minutes were left on the clock. Adam Cowie-Haskell chipped a quick pass to Chris Kafina from the top of the box with Kafina's one-hopper beating Safian to find the net.
 
The Cardinals outshot the Polar Bears 10-8 by the conclusion of the contest, with Emmett McConnell tallying five saves for Wesleyan as Safian made a pair of saves for Bowdoin.
 
The Polar Bears return home next Saturday for a 12:00 PM contest against Amherst.