MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The No. 12 nationally-ranked Colby Mules outscored No. 11 Wesleyan women's lacrosse 10-1 in the first and third quarters combined, which proved too much for the Cardinals to overcome in a 15-7 home loss on Saturday afternoon. Wesleyan (3-1, 1-1 NESCAC) suffers their first defeat of the 2022 season while Colby (4-1, 2-0 NESCAC) wins their third straight, all of which coming on the road.
 
The Mules had Wesleyan on their heels in the early going, building a 2-0 lead and even after a Kendall Mittleman '23 goal with 5:20 left in the frame got Wesleyan on the board, Colby answered right back with three goals in a span of less than two minutes to take a 5-1 lead after one. Draw controls played a considerable role in the scoring margin as Colby won all seven draws in the first quarter.
 
Wesleyan did, however, find their footing in the second as after another Colby draw control win, a turnover gave the ball back to the Cardinals who pushed upfield with Laura Baine '24 eventually finding Kate Balicki '23 for a goal just 1:04 into the quarter. The Cardinals added another as Olivia Lai '23 beat her defender in a rush from the right wing, beating Colby's goalkeeper with a low show as suddenly the Cardinals trailed by just two.
 
The score later read 6-4 in favor of Colby and after a failed clear attempt for Wesleyan, Colby took advantage with an Annie Eddy goal. Then after Wesleyan won the draw, Baine was whistled for an offensive foul, turning the ball over to the Mules who saw Grace Toner score on the ensuing offensive possession to make it 8-4 Colby.
 
Baine scored with 20 seconds left in the half as despite seeing Colby own a 10-5 edge in draw controls and 18-12 advantage over Wesleyan, the Cardinals trailed just 8-5 at the halftime break.
 
It took nearly 10 minutes for either team to score in the third quarter as turnovers from both sides kept the score at 8-5, that was until Elizabeth Hennessey and Julia Jardina scored just 19 seconds apart and all of the sudden it was 10-5 Colby. The Mules scored three more goals including one with just 25 seconds left in the quarter as the score read 13-5 in favor of Colby heading into the fourth.
 
With a sizeable lead, Colby's goalkeeper Emily Podgorni made four of her 10 saves in the fourth quarter alone to keep the Mules way out in front, eventually finishing off a 15-7 NESCAC win.
 
Baine led the Cardinals with one goal and two assists for three points while Lai and Balicki each scored twice to lead the Wesleyan offense. Indigo Pellegrini de Paur '21, G'22 was stellar all-around with four caused turnovers, three draw controls and three ground balls. Lucy Gretsky '23 tied for a game-high with four draw controls.
 
Toner led the Mules offensive attack with seven points (three goals, four assists) while four other Colby players tallied hat tricks with three goals each. Colby outshot Wesleyan 34-21, won the ground ball battle 22-14, finished with a 15-11 edge in draw controls and attempted 14 free position shots compared to just six for the Cardinals.
 
Wesleyan looks to rebound with a quick turnaround as the Cardinals play host to Endicott on Sunday at 2 PM.