LEWISTON, Me. – There was no stopping the No. 14 ranked Wesleyan men's lacrosse team on Sunday afternoon, as the Cardinals poured in their most goals scored against a NESCAC opponent in team history, defeating Bates 24-5 from Garcelon Field. Wesleyan starts 1-0 in NESCAC play for the sixth straight season while the Bobcats drop to 0-2 overall (0-1 NESCAC) on the season.
 
The Cardinals broke a team record set last season, when Wesleyan defeated Bates 22-8 at home on March 5. Thirteen Cardinals scored at least one goal, while 17 players registered at least one point in the dominant victory. Justin Hazard '23 and DJ Dixon '24 finished with four goals apiece to lead the team while Jack Raba '23 led Wesleyan with five points (three goals, two assists) in his debut as a Cardinal.
 
Colin Hanley '23 backboned a solid team defensive effort, making eight saves with just three goals allowed in 45 minutes of work. Drew Skibniewski '23 came on to start the fourth quarter and made three saves with no goals allowed in 10+ minutes.
 
All three Cardinals who stepped up to the X dominated their Bobcat counterparts as Kevin Talbot '24 and Devin Alton '25 each went 7-for-10 while Tyler Campbell '25 was 7-for-11. As a unit, the trio combined to go 21-for-31 (68 percent).
 
Even with the lobsided final score, it was only 4-2 in favor of Wesleyan after 8:20 of play but from that point forward, it was completely one-sided as the Cardinals erupted for 15 unanswered goals which extended to a 19-1 run late into the fourth quarter.
 
After scoring the final three goals of the first quarter, Wesleyan score all nine goals in the second to lead 16-2 at halftime. The first attack unit of Raba, Hazard, and Matt Gill '23, who combined for 13 points (eight goals, five assists), produced 12 points in the first half alone before making way for the second and third line on attack in the second half.
 
Wesleyan outshot Bates 33-12 in the first half alone while Hanley made saves on all three of the Bobcats' shots on-target in the second quarter.
 
With many new faces seeing the field in the second half, Ben Burns '26 went off for three points (two goals, one assist) while Will Shull '25 had one goal and two assists while Will Miller '26 and James Bailey '26 netted two goals in their collegiate debuts.
 
Cole Ward '25 led the Cardinal defense with two caused turnovers while Hanley added two with three ground balls. Doug Rabin '26 shined with four ground balls and one caused turnover in his debut. As a team, Wesleyan won the ground ball battle convincingly, 52-28, over the Bobcats.
 
Next up for the Cardinals is the home opener on Wednesday, March 8 at 7 PM from Citrin Field against SUNY Maritime.