SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The No. 18 ranked Wesleyan men's lacrosse team returned to form on Wednesday night, as the Cardinals shook off a three-game losing streak and dispatched Springfield, 19-6, in non-conference play. Wesleyan improves to 8-5 overall and 4-1 in non-league games while the Pride drop to 4-9.
 
A balanced score sheet saw 11 different Cardinals score at least once while five had multi-goal games and five tied for the team-lead with four points. Turnovers also played a major role in the outcome as Wesleyan committed just 10 for the game, compared to 24 for Springfield. Wesleyan led by nine at the half and by as many as 14 before time expired on a dominating road win.
 
The Pride got out on the front foot in this one, scoring on the opening possession, but the Cardinals responded with a goal on their first offensive possession. That unassisted tally from Pat Doherty '23 jumpstarted a 5-0 run over the course of the majority of the first quarter as Wesleyan led 5-1 with 3:31 remaining.
 
The game started the sway in full favor of Wesleyan in the second quarter wherein the Cardinals outscored Springfield 6-0 to take an 11-2 lead into halftime. Will Miller '26 found the back of the net just over two minutes into the period before Kevin Talbot '24 won the ensuing faceoff and fed Justin Hazard '23 for another goal just eight seconds later.
 
The midfield then poured in the remaining four goals of the first half with CK Giancola '24 scoring his second of the night before Alex Moynihan '24 scored twice and assisted Sam Jean '23 with just 21 seconds left to make it 11-2. Wesleyan outshot Springfield 15-7 and won the turnover battle 8-2 to extend their lead.
 
It was 13-4 Cardinals late in the third quarter before Giancola completed his hat trick and Will Shull '25 found the back of the net with just five seconds remaining to make it 15-4. Another four-goal quarter followed as Wesleyan saw four different Cardinals score in the final stanza to account for the 19-6 score.
 
Hazard and Doherty each finished with three goals and one assist while Jack Raba '23 and Matt Gill '23 each posted one goal and four assists. The fifth Cardinal to finish with four points was Jean who matched his career-high with four points on two goals and two assists. Giancola tallied a hat trick for the second straight game and seventh time in 12 appearances this season. Moynihan tied his career-high with three points (two goals, one assist).
 
Nolan Collins '23 continued to pile up monster numbers on the defensive end, recording seven ground balls and matching his career-high with five caused turnovers. His 2.92 caused turnovers per game leads the NESCAC.
 
Charlie Silver '25 had a solid day on defense with two ground balls and two caused turnovers while Charlie Wilmot '26 recorded four ground balls and one caused turnover.
 
Drew Skibniewski '23 got the start in net and made eight saves with five goals allowed in 54:32 of action. Talbot finished 9-for-14 with five ground balls at the X.
 
A much-needed win for Wesleyan gives the Cardinals some momentum heading into a massive home tilt on Saturday against Williams at 1 PM. A win would ensure the Cardinals a spot in the NESCAC Tournament as well as the Little Three Championship.