NEW LONDON, Conn. – In need of a response to last Saturday's defeat at Colby, the No. 15 nationally-ranked Wesleyan men's lacrosse team certainly answered the call with a sensational all-around performance that ended in a 23-6 victory over Coast Guard on Wednesday night. Wesleyan (5-1) thundered past the Bears (4-3) on the backs of an 8-0 scoring run while the Cardinals outscored Coast Guard 13-2 in the second half alone to get back on the winning track.
Scooping up a ground ball and scoring right away was
Spencer Robbins '22 that got the scoring started early in the first.
DJ Dixon '23 then finished off an extended offensive series with an unassisted tally before Robbins scored his second and
Justin Hazard '23 found the back of the net as Wesleyan led 4-0 after the first quarter. Wesleyan outshot Coast Guard 17-7 in the frame while
Colin Hanley '22 made three saves to hold the Bears scoreless.
The two sides combined for 10 goals in the second quarter as Wesleyan pumped in six while Coast Guard found their footing with four. Six of those goals came in a span of just 2:24 as the two sides traded goals around the 10 minute mark before Hazard,
Kyle Camphausen '22,
Noah Braunstein '23 and
CK Giancola '24 fired in four unanswered goals as Wesleyan pushed their lead up to 9-2.
Right before the half, after Coast Guard answered with consecutive goals to cut the Wesleyan lead down to 9-4, it was Hazard who came up with a momentum-shifting goal with just three seconds left before the halftime buzzer sounded as Wesleyan led 10-4 at the break.
Coming out of halftime with a six-goal cushion, there was no stopping the Cardinal attack as Wesleyan broke the game wide open with seven unanswered goals to start the third quarter. Five different Cardinals scored in the spurt including Hazard and
Jake Sexton '22 twice as the pair completed their respective hat tricks.
Even with Coast Guard's two consecutive goals to close out the third quarter, Wesleyan was unfazed in the fourth and finished the game strong, outscoring the Bears 6-0 in the quarter to finish off a 23-6 win against a team that beat the Cardinals in New London (10-9 in overtime) back in Wesleyan's 2018 national championship season.
Twelve different Cardinals scored at least one goal but it was Sexton who starred with a career-high 10 points on four goals and six assists. Sexton easily bested his previous single-game career-high in assists, which had previously stood at three, with six against the Bears. Sexton's 10 points puts him in elite company as he joins teammate
Matt Gill '23 and Harry Stanton '18 as the only Cardinals to put up 10 points in a game since the 1990's.
Hazard had a big night with five goals and one assist for six points as he leads the team with 21 goals through six games.
Sam Jean '23 returned to the lineup and posted his first career hat trick as he finished with three goals and one assist for four points. Gill added three assists while Robbins and Dixon each tallied two goals and one assist.
After struggling to get much going at the X against the Mules last Saturday, Wesleyan went back to dominating faceoffs as the Cardinals won 24 with just nine losses on the night.
Kevin Talbot '24 was sensational, going 16-for-22 with 10 ground balls while
Tyler Campbell '25 went 6-for-7.
Leading the defense with six ground balls and four caused turnovers was
Nolan Collins '23. Hanley recorded eight saves with six goals allowed in net, earning his fifth win of the season while continuing his impressive streak as he now has recorded a .500 or better save percentage in all six games in 2022.
As a team, Wesleyan outshot Coast Guard 64-30 for the game including a 30-9 margin in the second half alone. Wesleyan finished +6 in turnover margin (25-19) while owning a +23 edge in ground balls (64-41).
Caleb Holdridge led the Bears with four points (one goal, three assists) as he either scored or assisted on all but two of the Coast Guard goals for the night.
Wesleyan Is set for a big Saturday showdown at home against No. 19 Bowdoin that is set for a 1 PM start from Smith Field.
