MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Playing in slick, blustery conditions, the No. 11 ranked Wesleyan women's lacrosse team leaned on defense and depth as the Cardinals eased past Bates, 15-3, to open the 2023 campaign. The Cardinals open 1-0 in NESCAC play for the seventh straight season while the Bobcats drop to 1-2 overall.
Shuffling several players at attack, the Cardinals saw nine different players score at least one goal while seven finished with multi-point games.
Chessy Greenwald '23 racked up a career-high seven points, six of which being assists, while she added a career-high seven ground balls to lead the team. Her six assists are the most by a Cardinal in a single-game since Allie Lynch '11 tied the school record with eight against Conn. College back on April 30, 2010.
All smiles for Coach Kim Williams and the Cardinals postgame
Team defense also played a key role in the outcome as Bates committed 25 turnovers in the game, 17 of which were caused by the Cardinals.
Erin Trotta '23 and
Reilly Short '23 tied for the team-lead with four caused turnovers while
Haley McLaughlin '24 tallied three. The 17 caused turnovers for Wesleyan are the most the team has totaled against a NESCAC opponent since the team forced Tufts into 18 back on April 7, 2018.
Haley McLaughlin '24 (three ground balls, three caused turnovers) was heavily involved in her first career start
The stifling defensive effort was on evident from the jump as the Cardinals led 8-0, outshooting the Bobcats 22-3 at the half.
Gil Horst '23 scored two of the opening three goals of the game while Greenwald found classmate
Kendall Mittleman '23 for a goal in transition all in the first quarter.
Wesleyan put the game away in the second quarter, blitzing the Bobcats for five more goals.
Molly Greer '24 found the back of the net twice while
Olivia Lai '23,
Brooke Nelson '24, and
Georgia Mackie '24 all scored to give the Cardinals an eight-goal cushion at the break.
Georgia Mackie '24 (right) celebrates a goal with Molly Greer '24 (left)
Bates scored all three of their goals in the third quarter, but the Cardinals matched them with three of their own. Mackie and Mittleman each scored their second on the day while
Bridget Horst '26 weaved her way to a free position goal, scoring in her first career game.
Greenwald engineered the Cardinal offense to four more goals in the fourth, scoring or assisting on all four. She netted an unassisted tally three minutes into the frame and then found Nelson, Lai, and Kate Balick '23 to finish off a convincing 15-3 victory.
Chessy Greenwald '23 lines up a shot in the fourth quarter
For the game, Wesleyan held a 28-15 advantage in ground balls, 37-9 in shots, 12-10 in draw controls, and 11-2 in free position shots.
Abby Wolk '22 picked up the win in net, making three saves in 33:42 minutes of action.
Izzy Weintraub '26 entered early in the third quarter and made two saves in 26:18.
Next up for Wesleyan is a non-conference home matchup against Babson at 6 PM on Wednesday from Smith Field. The Cardinals are 11-6 all-time against the Beavers, winning the last seven consecutive meetings dating back to 2015.
