MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Set to make their 19
th NESCAC Tournament appearance, the two-time NESCAC Champion Wesleyan men's lacrosse team opens postseason play on Saturday, playing host to fifth-seeded Middlebury in the Quarterfinal round at 2:00 PM from Jackson Field.
The Cardinals finished up the regular season as the fourth-seed with a 6-4 record in NESCAC play (11-4 overall). Middlebury enters as the #5 seed after going 6-4 in league play (8-7 overall). The two sides met in Middletown on Saturday, April 9 in a thriller, as the Cardinals saw an 8-3 halftime lead whittled down to a tie game in the final minutes. Then with 32 seconds remaining,
Spencer Robbins '22 unleashed a shot from distance that found the lower corner for the game-winner. Wesleyan currently sits No. 14 in the national rankings while the Panthers are unranked.
Making their 19
th NESCAC Tournament appearance (18
th straight), the Cardinals have missed the postseason just one time since joining the NESCAC in 2000-01. The Cardinals are 23-16 all-time in the NESCAC Tournament, having won the Championship in 2017 and 2009. Wesleyan's last NESCAC Tournament appearance, however, ended in the Quarterfinal round at the hands of Middlebury in 2019 (11-7 loss at home). Wesleyan is 3-5 all-time in the NESCAC Tournament against Middlebury.
Both teams head into postseason play coming off wins as the Cardinals defeated Conn. College 15-14 at Jackson Field on Wednesday in a thriller that came down to the final seconds. Middlebury, meanwhile, handed Williams a 13-10 defeat but the Panthers having strung together a win streak since a three-game uptick back in late March into early April.
Wesleyan averaged 17.4 goals per game in the regular season, a mark that ranks third in the NESCAC and 12
th in the nation while the Panthers average 13.1 goals per game (5
th in NESCAC). Passing has been the Cardinals' calling card all season as Wesleyan heads into the postseason leading the nation in total assists (197) and assists per game (13.1). The Cardinals have also been lethal on the man-up, coming in with the nation's seventh-best percentage, scoring on 47.4 percent of their man-up opportunities in 15 regular season games.
The Cardinal defense has been solid throughout the year, heading in with the fourth-fewest goals allowed in the NESCAC while Middlebury is right behind with the fifth-fewest. The Cardinals do have a clear edge in faceoff percentage, heading in with a 61.5 win rate for the season (2
nd in NESCAC) compared to 48.7 percent for Middlebury (8
th NESCAC). Wesleyan also ranks first in the league in caused turnovers per game (10.8) while ranking second in ground balls per game (41.5). One area where Middlebury has the advantage is turnovers as the Panthers commit an average of 16.3 per game compared to 19.7 for Wesleyan.
Justin Hazard '23 leads the team in scoring with 47 goals and 23 assists for 70 points, averaging 4.67 points per game which is fourth-highest in the NESCAC.
Matt Gill '23 (26 goals, 43 assists) and
Jake Sexton '22 (40 goals, 28 assists) all sit Top 10 in the NESCAC in points per game as Wesleyan and Tufts are the only team in the NESCAC with three players averaging 4+ points per game. The Cardinal midfielders also present a challenge for opposing defenses as Robbins (27 goals, 25 assists) has 52 points while
CK Giancola '24 has 37 (18 goals, 19 assists) and
DJ Dixon '24 heads into the postseason fresh off a six-goal game against Conn., upping his season point total to 33 (26 goals, seven assists).
On defense, the leader among position players is
Nolan Collins '23 who is third on the team (first among non faceoff specialists) in ground balls with 49 while he leads the team and ranks fifth in the NESCAC with 27 caused turnovers this season.
Kyle Camphausen '22 has had a breakthrough senior year with 46 ground balls, 19 caused turnovers and eight points while
Charlie Silver '25 (24 ground balls, 15 caused turnovers) has proved to be one of the better young defenders in the league.
Colin Hanley '22 has performed well in his first season as the full-time starter, sporting a .538 save percentage, 10.51 goals-against average and 134 saves in 13 starts (9-3 record).
Middlebury is led by Bill Curtis on offense as he is second on the team in goals (28) and first in assists (26) and points (54). Jack Sheehan is the team-leader in goals with 36 while William Ryan, Tom Conley, Russell Thorndike and Tyler Forbes all have at least 29 points. William Munroe is the main faceoff taker (139-for-249, 55.8 percent). Luke Simpson (42 GB, 28 CT) and Andrew Ng (40 GB, 32 CT) lead the defense while Finn O'Connor has started every game in the cage (.519 SV%, 11.57 GAA, 174 saves).
In the regular season meeting, Wesleyan won despite being outshot 56-30 as the Cardinals built an 8-3 halftime lead despite the Panthers outshooting the Cardinals 30-10 in the first half. No Panther had more than two goals as 10 different players scored. Robbins was the catalyst on offense for Wesleyan as he scored a career-high five goals including the game-winner with 32 seconds left.
Wesleyan is 25-28-1 all-time against Middlebury but have won five of the last six meetings against the Panthers.
