The No. 12 nationally ranked Wesleyan women's lacrosse team earned an at-large bid to the 2022 NCAA Tournament, as revealed on the selection show this morning. The Cardinals (13-4) earned a bye in the first round and will face the winner of host school No. 11 York (PA) and St. John Fisher on Sunday at 1 PM.
In what is the program's fourth NCAA Tournament appearance, all of which have occurred since 2017, the Cardinals look to make some noise as they've done in recent seasons. The Cardinals made a run to the national semifinal (Final 4) in 2019, earning wins over three Top 10 ranked teams along the way. Wesleyan also won two tournament games in 2018, advancing to the third round following wins over Messiah and St. John Fisher.
The Cardinals are one of four NESCAC teams represented in the NCAA Tournament field, joining champion Tufts as well as No. 2 ranked Middlebury and Colby. Wesleyan fell to Middlebury, 16-6, in the semifinal round on Saturday afternoon. Wesleyan is currently ranked No. 12 in the nation in the latest IWLCA Coaches' Poll.
Awaiting Wesleyan is the winner of the first round matchup featuring the host school No. 11 York (PA) (14-5) and St. John Fisher (10-8). York is making their ninth NCAA Tournament appearance, having won the MAC Commonwealth Championship in a 12-7 win over Stevenson on Saturday. St. John Fisher claimed their 10
th consecutive Empire 8 Championship, defeating Nazareth 12-7 on Sunday.
The tournament will begin on Saturday with first round games across the country as the 45-team field will be whittled down to just 16 after second round action on Sunday. The winner of the Wesleyan vs. York/St. John Fisher game will meet one of three teams (Washington & Lee, Washington & Jefferson or Transylvania) in the third round next weekend.
Wesleyan has never faced York while the Cardinals own a 3-0 all-time record against St. John Fisher, having most-recently met in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Wesleyan won that second round meeting 11-6.
