NORTON, Mass. – In a resounding display, the No. 19 ranked Wesleyan field hockey team tied a team record with seven goal scorers featuring in a 9-1 win at Wheaton on Thursday night. The nine goals are the most scored by the Cardinals (8-4) in a game since 2010. The Lyons (4-10) have lost nine of their last 10 games.
 
There was a lot to like for Cardinal fans on-hand as their squad outshot the Lyons 30-3 in a devastating offensive barrage. The nine goals are the most Wesleyan has scored since a 10-2 at Eastern Connecticut State back in 2010. In addition, the final total of seven different goal scorers ties a team record that has only been accomplished twice prior in program history. Those two prior instances came in a 10-0 win against Franklin Pierce in 1997 and a 12-0 win over Salve Regina in 2010.
 
The lone multi-goal scorers on the night for Wesleyan were Ava Galdenzi '24, who now has scored five of her seven career goals against the Lyons, and Georgia Adams '26 who's 13 goals are the most of any player in the NESCAC through 12 games this season. Helen Deretchin '25, Annabel Cincotta '25, Sydney Cameron '26, Sarah Porter '27, and Melanie Lim '24 all got involved with one goal each. Porter dished out an assist for her first career three-point game while Kenzie Kelly '25 had two assists and Imani Ochieng '25 had one as the pair are tied for the team-lead with six assists in 2023.
 
It took 11 minutes before the Cardinals struck and the play started with a turnover in the Lyons' defensive half of the field. Kelly picked up the loose ball and took a couple steps before feeding Adams with a well-weighted pass. Adams carried into the arc, deeked past one defender and the goalie before sliding home the opening goal.
 
Then just 40 seconds later, Kelly hit a reverse sweep pass from just inside the arc. The pass landed on Cameron's stick at the far post and with the goalie out of position, she slid home her third goal of the season.
 
Wheaton responded with their lone goal 42 seconds into the second quarter, making it a 2-1 game which held into the second half before the Cardinals outscored the Lyons 7-0 in the final 30 minutes and 5-0 in the third quarter alone.
 
Wesleyan was gifted an own goal from the Lyons as Adams sent a pass towards traffic in front of the cage, but the ball deflected off the stick of a Wheaton defender and in the cage.
 
A wild span followed as Wesleyan scored four goals in just 3:01 of game action to put this contest away. Galdenzi deflected home a goal off a penalty corner, after inserting to Ochieng on the near side she stepped forward and got her stick on Ochieng's sweep to make it 4-1 Cardinals.
 
Cincotta cleaned up a goal off a penalty corner just over a minute later, as the ball was batted around several times before the junior forward swept home her fourth goal of the season.
 
Galdenzi notched another goal as the Cardinals scored their third straight goal off a penalty corner. Deretchin took a shot that was initially saved but the rebound kicked out to Porter who slid the ball towards Galdenzi who was in a great spot to just touch home her second goal of the night.
 
Deretchin then finished off the flurry of four goals in three minutes as she forced a turnover off a restart deep in the Lyons' defensive end. She then had time to carry inside the arc and line up a shot which she put in a perfect spot for her fourth goal of the season.
 
Porter's goal was well-worked as the first-year received a pass from Kelly inside the arc and came to a stop. She then carried in towards the center of the circle and fired a shot that lifted off the turf and landed in the upper left corner of the cage as Wesleyan led 8-1 with 12:46 left.
 
The final goal came with 26 seconds left as Adams possessed deep in the arc and had an initial attempt on-target saved, but Lim was ready to pounce on the rebound as she fired in Wesleyan's ninth goal of the game and her first of the season.
 
Athena Vadnal '25 made two saves in almost 45 minutes of work in the cage.
 
The Cardinals shift their focus to a huge contest on Saturday as Wesleyan travels to face No. 9 Williams at Noon in a massive Little Three contest with big NESCAC Tournament implications on the line.