WATERVILLE, Me. – Trailing 9-7 early in the fourth quarter, Colby held the No. 8 nationally-ranked Wesleyan men's lacrosse team scoreless for the final 13:49 of play and managed three unanswered goals including the game-winner with just 48 seconds left as the Mules pulled off the 10-9 upset win on Saturday afternoon. Wesleyan (4-1, 1-1 NESCAC) saw their unbeaten run to the 2022 season come to an end while the Cardinals saw their seven-game win streak against the Mules (2-1, 1-1 NESCAC) also come to an end.
 
After scoring 22+ goals in all four games to start the season, Wesleyan's lethal scoring offense was held in-check throughout by a gamely Colby side that saw goalkeeper Matt Suffredini make 16 saves. On the other side, Colin Hanley '22 played his best game of the season, making 15 saves himself in the cage, but it wasn't enough to overcome a great defensive effort from the Mules that carried Colby to a big league home win.
 
Wesleyan's one-two scoring punch Matt Gill '23 and Justin Hazard '23 combined for the opening goal 2:01 into play as Hazard scored off a feed from Gill, who came into this game leading the nation in points per game. Colby, however, stymied Wesleyan's offense for six-plus minutes and scored twice themselves to take a 2-1 lead. That was before the Cardinals struck for three unanswered goals to end the quarter as CK Giancola '24 and Jake Sexton '22 scored just 1:05 apart before Spencer Robbins '23 fired in a goal off a Gill assist to make it 4-2 Cardinals after one.
 
The Cardinal run continued, as Gill found his scoring touch this time to extend the Wesleyan scoring run to 4-0, making it 5-2 Cardinals early on in the second. Sexton scored his second of the day not long after Gill to make it 6-3 Wesleyan but the Mules locked down defensively from that point forward, holding the Cardinals scoreless for the final 11:33 of the frame and scoring twice in that spell to only trail 6-5 at the half.
 
Wesleyan's lead remained one goal after the third as Suffredini and the Colby defense was at their best, as the Cardinals outshot the Mules 16-8 in the third quarter alone but only found the back of the net twice as it was 8-7 Cardinals heading into the fourth.
 
In that final stanza, Giancola broke loose for an unassisted goal 1:11 into the stanza to give Wesleyan a two-goal cushion, but that turned out to be the final Cardinal goal on the day. Jack Goller answered right back just 1:30 later to cut the deficit back down to one and Jack Rickards followed with a goal to tie the score at 9.
 
Wesleyan certainly had their chances as the Cardinals fired seven shots in a span of less than five minutes looking to break the deadlock, including one from Hazard that ringed off the post, but none found their way past Suffredini in net. With the ball back, Colby called timeout with 1:17 remaining and on the ensuing possession, found the go-ahead goal scored by Nick Hassan with 48 seconds left, giving Colby their first lead since early in the first quarter.
 
Needing a faceoff win, Kevin Talbot '24 won the ensuing draw off a violation but a Cardinal turnover all but sealed their fate as the clock wound down under five seconds. Colby's Pat Flaherty was whistled for a penalty with two seconds left but all Wesleyan could do was fire a shot from near midfield that was saved by Suffredini, thus ending the game with a 10-9 Colby win.
 
Hanley finished with a season and career-high 15 saves, giving him his second double-digit save performance in five games this season. Gill finished with four points (one goal, three assists) to lead the Cardinals while Giancola added three (two goals, one assist) and Sexton and Hazard each scored twice. Talbot finished 11-for-16 at the faceoff X.
 
Colby saw eight different goal scorers account for the scoring while Matt Stein posted one goal and three assists to lead the way for the Mules with four points. Suffredini added nine ground balls to go along with his 16 saves. Will Dodge was incredible, finishing with five ground balls and five caused turnovers.
 
Wesleyan looks to rebound with a midweek non-conference showdown at Coast Guard on Wednesday at 6 PM.