MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – An 11-goal first quarter set the tone for the night as the No. 15 nationally ranked Wesleyan men's lacrosse team went on to defeat Coast Guard, 25-7, on Wednesday night from Citrin Field. Wesleyan (5-1) wins their third straight, improving to 3-0 at home, while the Bears (3-3) are losers of three straight games.
Finishing just one goal shy of matching a single-game program record, the 25-goal output for the Cardinals is tied for the second-highest goal total in team history. In all, 19 different Cardinals recorded at least one point while Wesleyan fired 71 shots and finished a staggering +32 ahead in ground balls (56-24) against the Bears.
In a high-octane opening 15 minutes, Wesleyan put up 11 goals while holding the Bears to just two, setting the stage for the evening.
CK Giancola '24 needed just 5:30 to complete his second consecutive hat trick, scoring three times to hand Wesleyan a 4-0 lead.
Tyler Campbell '25 scored his first of two in the quarter off a faceoff win, as the sophomore recorded his second career multi-goal game.
Matt Rettinger '25 found the back of the net for the first time this season and
Justin Hazard '23 managed to beat the buzzer, unleashing a shot with just under one second left to make it 11-2 after one.
After the two sides combined for 13 goals in the first quarter, the defenses dominated the second quarter with just three goals scored in the frame.
Drew Skibniewski '23 entered in goal for the Cardinals and impressed, recording eight saves with just one goal allowed in the quarter. The senior went on to finish the game with 13 saves, his first career double-digit save performance, as he earned his first career win.
Coast Guard scored twice to open the second half, cutting the deficit to eight goals, but the Cardinals held Coast Guard scoreless for the next 24+ minutes, going on a 11-0 run to win this one going away.
DJ Dixon '24,
Ben Burns '26, and
Nolan Chow '23 each scored twice in the second half while Skibniewski recorded an assist on a Dixon goal early in the third quarter.
Wesleyan outshot Coast Guard 71-35 for the game and dominated at the X, going 23-for-34 on the night.
Kevin Talbot '24 went 8-for-9 with three ground balls while Campbell finished 7-for-9 with three ground balls and the two goals.
Matt Gill '23 led the way for the Cardinal offense, recording his second eight-point game of the season as he totaled four goals and four assists with no turnovers and three ground balls. Hazard recorded six points including a career-high five assists. Giancola totaled five points on four goals and one assist. In the last two games alone, Giancola has 12 points (nine goals, three assists) to lead the team.
Dixon and Burns each had two goals and two assists for four points each.
Jack Raba '23 tallied three assists and
Reef Kabalin '25 and
Baron Fisher '26 each recorded their first career points with one assist each in the fourth quarter.
Nolan Collins '23 continues to backbone the Cardinal defense, this time recording a career-high six caused turnovers to go along with five ground balls. In six games, Collins has 24 caused turnovers to lead all NESCAC players and rank Top 5 nationally.
Wesleyan shifts their focus back to NESCAC play with a big showdown looming on Saturday as the Cardinals head to Brunswick to face the No. 19 ranked Bowdoin Polar Bears. Bowdoin was the only team to defeat the Cardinals in Middletown last season, winning 16-10 back on March 26, 2022.
