MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Playing under the bright lights at Smith Field for the first time this season, the No. 12 nationally-ranked Wesleyan women's lacrosse team shined in a 12-5 win over previously unbeaten Western Connecticut State on Wednesday night. The Cardinals (5-1) complete a five-game homestand with a 4-1 record while WestConn lost a regular season game for the first time since March 7, 2020.
 
On a frigid night where goals were hard to come by early, Dominique DeMarsico scored for WestConn in the second quarter to make it 2-1 in favor of the visitors but after that goal, Wesleyan held WestConn scoreless for the next 32+ minutes of play, scoring nine unanswered in that span to take complete control of the game.
 
Neither side could get much going in the first quarter as Wesleyan scored the first goal of the game with 4:42 remaining in the frame. DeMarsico scored on the player-up advantage a few minutes later and it was all tied at 1 after one.
 
The Cardinals really started to kick into gear right after DeMarsico's second goal put WestConn out in front as Wesleyan went on a 4-0 run in a span of under two minutes and suddenly held a 5-2 lead. Kendall Mittleman '23 scored on a free position before Gil Horst '23 took a draw control, carried deep into the WestConn defensive zone and scored just nine seconds later to make it 3-2 Wesleyan.
 
Laura Baine '24 followed with her first of three goals on the night while Kate Balicki '23 came through with a goal 22 seconds after Baine's tally to account for the scoring in the half for both sides as the remaining 7:42 of the second quarter was scoreless between the two sides.
 
Leading 5-2 at the break, Wesleyan dominated possession in the third quarter as the Cardinals held a 6-0 advantage in shots while forcing WestConn into seven turnovers in the third quarter alone. Olivia Lai '23 scored both Wesleyan goals in the frame as it was 7-2 Wesleyan heading into the fourth.
 
Lai completed a natural hat trick (three straight goals scored by the same player) with a highlight reel, no-look backhanded shot off a Balicki assist just 1:35 into the fourth. Balicki assisted on the next Wesleyan goal as well, this time from Baine to make it 9-2. After Baine scored again to complete another Cardinal flurry of goals, the two sides traded goals for the remainder of play before the Cardinals ultimately closed out a 12-5 win.
 
Shots favored Wesleyan 32-14 including an 18-3 margin in the second half alone. WestConn committed 23 turnovers while Wesleyan had just 16. Wesleyan posted a 27-14 edge in ground balls while draw controls favored the Cardinals 13-7.
 
Lai led the way with four goals for Wesleyan, marking her second straight game with four goals as well as her third total four-goal game of the season. She also amassed five ground balls and two caused turnovers in an all-around performance. Lai leads the team with 20 goals through six games.
 
Baine posted three goals for her fifth hat trick of the season as she currently leads the team and the NESCAC with 32 points (17 goals, 15 assists) in 2022. Balicki posted three points (one goal, two assists) while Mittleman had one goal and one assist.
 
Leading the defensive effort was Maeve Olson '25 who tallied four ground balls and two caused turnovers. Francesca Li '22 added three ground balls and one caused turnover while Indigo Pellegrini de Paur '21, G'22 went for three ground balls, three draw controls and two caused turnovers.
 
Three Cardinals had three draw controls each including Kiara Tangney '25 who also scored her second goal of the season late in the fourth quarter. Abby Wolk '22 played the entire 60 minutes in the cage and made two saves for her fifth win of the season.
 
Anna Schipf was impressive in net for WestConn as she posted 12 saves which is the most for any opposing goalkeeper against Wesleyan this season.
 
Wesleyan continues a busy few weeks of lacrosse with two road games this weekend starting with a Saturday afternoon showdown at Bowdoin followed by a Sunday afternoon makeup game at Babson.