AMHERST, Mass. – Heading into halftime leading 4-2, the No. 11 nationally ranked Wesleyan women's lacrosse team played as close to a perfect half of lacrosse as a team can get as the Cardinals outscored the No. 20 Mammoths 12-0 to roll to a 16-2 victory on Wednesday night. Wesleyan (8-1, 3-1 NESCAC) set new program records for most goals scored, fewest goals allowed and biggest win over Amherst (6-3, 1-3 NESCAC) in 49 all-time meetings.
 
A stunning performance for the Cardinals saw them outscore Amherst 12-0 in the second half (8-0 in the third quarter alone), to roll to the record-breaking win. Wesleyan outshot Amherst 16-0 in the third quarter and 21-2 in the second half. Amherst's two goals are a new season-low for goals allowed by the Cardinals while that is the fewest goals ever allowed by a Wesleyan team against a NESCAC opponent.
 
The game got off to a slow start for both sides as just six goals were scored in the first half while the first goal of the game didn't come until the 7:45 mark of the first quarter when Kate Balicki '23 ran through the right wing and from a tight angle, was able to fire a goal to kickoff the scoring.
 
Another five minutes went by before Amherst scored their first of the day with 2:13 left in the quarter but in the last minute, a crucial Wesleyan goal saw Kendall Mittleman '23 fire a laser pass to Laura Baine '24 just outside the crease who finished with a goal that made it 2-1 Wesleyan after one.
 
Olivia Lai '23 got involved in the scoring midway through the second quarter as the defenses continued to dominate, Lai needed to possess a Balicki pass while shouldering off an Amherst defender. From over 10 feet out, she needed to swing to fire a shot off that went low and past Amherst goalkeeper Caroline Fischer.
 
Molly Greer '24 made it 4-1 Wesleyan just a few minutes later, forcing an Amherst timeout which led to a Mammoth goal on their next possession as the scoreboard read 4-2 at the half.
 
Wesleyan then put the game away with a sensational third quarter as the Cardinals outscored Amherst 8-0 in the period, seven of which were scored in the final 7:25 of the stanza. Mittleman struck first 2:59 into the second half as she was left wide open in front after a restart. Baine then lofted a perfect pass over the crossbar from behind the net, finding Greer who scored her second of the day midway through the quarter.
 
The barrage continued with a sensational goal from Lai as she carried in, fire a shot on-target while fighting off a crowd of four Mammoth defenders. She then somehow managed to pick up the loose ground ball and quickly fire another shot that found the back of the net. After Baine scored to make it 8-2 Wesleyan, Balicki turned and fired from just outside the crease and then she followed with a great spin to shake off her defender, carrying in to score again to make it 10-2.
 
Lai scored again to complete her hat trick and Mittleman found Brooke Nelson '24 loose deep in the Mammoth zone as she found the back of the net for the first time in her career to make it 12-2 Wesleyan and start the running clock with just over a minute left in the third.
 
In the fourth, it was Gil Horst '23 scoring twice off the free position, Lai adding another goal and Emma Wilson '24 scoring her first of the season and second of her career to cap the scoring at 16-2.
 
Four Cardinals finished the day with four points including Balicki who recorded her second career hat trick while matching a career-high with four points. Lai went for four goals while Baine tallied two goals and one assist and Mittleman chipped in one goal and three assists.
 
Erin Trotta '23 led a stellar defensive outing for Wesleyan with a career-high five ground balls as well as five caused turnovers. Reilly Short '23 also had a big day with three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
 
Julia Noyes '24 added a career-high six draw controls while Abby Wolk '22 made five saves in net with just two goals allowed for her eighth win on the season.
 
Wesleyan will face their stiffest test of the season next as the Cardinals head on the road to face No. 1 Middlebury (10-0, 5-0 NESCAC) at 11 AM on Saturday. The Cardinals have never beaten the Panthers, coming in with an all-time record of 0-20 against the annual national powers.