MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Trailing for nearly the entire game, the fourth-seed Wesleyan women's lacrosse team hung in and saw
Gil Horst '23 sprint past her defender to bury the game-winning goal with 1:16 remaining as the Cardinals defeated the fifth-seeded Hamilton Continentals, 10-8, at Smith Field on Saturday afternoon in the NESCAC Quarterfinals. Wesleyan (13-3) wins just their second NESCAC Tournament game in program history and advances to the NESCAC Semifinal round, heading on the road to face top-seed Middlebury next Saturday. Hamilton (7-7) played well throughout but see their season end in the NESCAC Quarterfinal.
In a game that saw Hamilton lead for well over 40 minutes, the Cardinals persevered and kept the score within lead as Hamilton's biggest lead throughout was only two goals. Trailing 8-6 entering the fourth quarter, Wesleyan mounted a furious rally that saw the Cardinals outscore Hamilton 4-0 in the final frame, with Horst's game-winner coming with just 1:16 remaining.
Previously in the fourth, Horst scored 1:36 into the frame to cut Hamilton's lead down to one and
Molly Greer '24 followed less than two minutes later with her career-high fourth goal of the game that tied the score at 8 apiece. As the clock wound down, the two sides remained deadlocked until the closing minutes when Horst broke through on the goal line extended on the left wing. Hamilton's defense, expecting Horst to pass, were punished for their miscommunication as Horst broke through right in front of the cage, making no mistake with the go-ahead marker.
With a vital draw upcoming,
Kiara Tangney '25 flung the ball back towards
Julia Noyes '24 who scooped up the ball, giving the Cardinals a possession with just over a minute to play. Needing to avoid a turnover, Wesleyan cycled the ball back into their defensive end before making their way up field again.
Chessy Greenwald '23 made a key ground ball pickup just over midfielder where she was surrounded by four Continentals. As the clock wound down, the ball came to Greer with under 10 seconds left who saw Greenwald wide open in front of cage. Receiving the pass, Greenwald put an exclamation point on the win with another goal as the Cardinal bench celebrated a gutty comeback win.
On a day where Wesleyan's top four leading scorers were held to just one goal and two combined points, the Cardinals saw key contributions come from unlikely scorers to pave the way to victory. Greer, who came in with 12 points and nine goals in 15 games, came up with a big-time performance as she tallied a game and career-high five points including four goals. Horst came in with one career hat trick in 23 career games and the junior midfielder went off for a season-high three goals including the game-winner.
Molly Greer '24 picked a great time to have a career day, finishing with a career-high four goals and five points
The Cardinals also saw a stellar performance from
Corin Grady '22 off the bench as the goalkeeper entered late in the second quarter with Hamilton leading 5-3. The senior went on to record five saves, the third-highest single-game total of her career, while she allowed just three goals including none in the fourth quarter, allowing Wesleyan the chance to come back in this one.
Hamilton scored just 46 seconds into play to take the early lead before Horst responded with the first Wesleyan goal just over two minutes later. Eva Abel netted a key player-down goal for Hamilton midway through the first but Wesleyan saw goals from Greer and
Kate Balicki '23 to hold a 3-2 lead after one.
After Balicki's goal, however, Wesleyan would go on to score just three goals over the next 35+ minutes of play including a scoreless streak of 15:11 as Hamilton took advantage. With neither side scoring for nearly 10 minutes, Alana King broke the scoring drought 6:12 into the second quarter that signaled the start of a 3-0 Hamilton run. Aine Clearly capped the run with five minutes left in the second, making it 5-3 Hamilton.
Both defenses continued to dominate at the start of the second half as 8:16 went by without a goal until Greer completed her hat trick with a free position goal. Hamilton still kept hold of their two-goal lead though heading into the fourth when the Cardinals mounted the furious 4-0 rally to earn a spot in the Semifinal round.
Chessy Greenwald '23 in the pregame starting lineup announcements
Wesleyan kept good hold of the ball as after a five-turnover first quarter, the Cardinals committed just eight turnovers in the final three quarters, finishing with just 13 for the game which is only one off their season-low. Wesleyan also won the ground ball battle (20-14) and outshot Hamilton 24-19. As a team, Wesleyan scored six of their 10 goals off free position shots as they went 6-for-9 for the game.
Greer went off with career-highs in points (five), goals (four), ground balls (three) and caused turnovers (three) while she added two draw controls. Noyes also stepped it up with five draw controls, including the most important one of the game following Horst's game-winner, to go along with career-highs in caused turnovers (three) and ground balls (two).
The Continentals were led by goalkeeper Kaitlin Reed, who made several key stops on her way to 10 saves for the game. Olivia Seymour racked up four points (one goal, three assists) while Alana King netted a hat trick.
Wesleyan now heads into just their second NESCAC Semifinal appearance and will meet the top-seeded and undefeated Middlebury Panthers next Saturday.
