MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The No. 5 ranked Wesleyan women's lacrosse team capped one of the best regular seasons in program history in dominating fashion, defeating Connecticut College by a final score of 14-2 on Wednesday night. The Cardinals (13-2, 8-2 NESCAC) secured the #2 seed heading into the NESCAC Tournament where they will open with a matchup against #7 Williams on Saturday at Noon from Smith Field.
Wednesday's victory was particularly noteworthy in that the two goals allowed tied a team record for the fewest goals allowed against a NESCAC opponent, matching a 16-2 win at Amherst last season. The win also gives the Cardinals 13 wins which ties a regular season program record, as the 2019 squad also finished the regular season with a 13-2 record.
As has been the theme throughout the 2023 campaign, production came from all over the lineup as 11 Cardinals scored while the team-leader was three players with three apiece. All three goalkeepers played at least 15 minutes in this one and all three finished with more saves than goals allowed as
Abby Wolk '22 (three saves, no goals allowed),
Izzy Weintraub '26 (two saves, one goal allowed), and
Olivia Klein '24 (three saves, one goal allowed) combined for eight saves and an .800 save percentage in the win.
The Cardinals cashed in on their free position opportunities early and often, with
Kiara Tangney '25 and
Chessy Greenwald '23 each finding the back of the net for free position goals to open the scoring.
Kate Balicki '23 netted consecutive goals in the middle stages of the first quarter before
Molly Greer '24 dished out assists on goals from
Annabel Cincotta '25 and
Olivia Lai '23 just 28 seconds apart as Wesleyan led 6-0 after one.
The turnovers continued to pile up for both sides in the second quarter, with the teams combining for 29 in the first half alone. All three Wesleyan goals in the frame occurred in a span of 2:18 as Cincotta, Tangney, and
Kendall Mittleman '23 accounted for the scoring to make it 9-1 Cardinals at halftime.
Running clock went into effect less than five minutes into the second half as Greer navigated her way through the Camel defense to put away a goal that made it 11-1 Cardinals. Both
Kyra Browne '26 and
Dylan Green '26 scored their first career goals in the fourth quarter as Wesleyan closed out a 14-2 win.
Shots favored Wesleyan 27-14 including a 10-2 margin in the first quarter. The Cardinals won 11 draws compared to seven for the Camels while Wesleyan generated an 8-4 edge in free position shots for the game.
Mittleman and Greer both finished with one goal and two assists while Cincotta went for two goals and one assist for the second straight game after entering the starting lineup for the first time in her career last weekend at Williams.
Tangney and Balicki both finished with two goals while
Bridget Horst '26 dished out her first career assist to go along with seven of the Cardinals' 11 draw controls.
As a team, Wesleyan amassed their second-highest ground ball total of the season with 29.
Gil Horst '23 and
Haley McLaughlin '24 led the way with three each. McLaughlin added two caused turnovers, as did Lai as the pairing tied for the team-lead.
Wesleyan opens the 2023 NESCAC Tournament at home in the Quarterfinal round for the third straight season and just the fourth time in team history. The Cardinals will face the Ephs for just the second time ever in the NESCAC Tournament, with the only prior meeting coming in the Quarterfinal stage back in 2004 (Williams won 10-9). The two sides met just last Saturday in Williamstown in a game that ended in a 15-7 Cardinal victory.
