MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – For the second straight season, the No. 7 ranked Wesleyan women's lacrosse team defeated No. 15 Amherst by 10+ goals as the Cardinals led by as many as 13 in a 17-7 victory over the Mammoths on Wednesday night from Smith Field. Wesleyan (8-1, 4-1 NESCAC) remains unbeaten at home heading into Saturday's Top 10 showdown in Middletown against No. 1 Middlebury. The Mammoths (7-2, 3-2 NESCAC) see their five-game win streak come to an end, having last lost back on March 11 prior to tonight.
 
In what played out very similarly to last season's 16-2 win at Amherst, the Cardinals could do little wrong against a Mammoth team that came in having scored at least 11 goals in their last five straight games. Wesleyan led 9-2 at the half and opened a 13-goal lead with 9:39 left, as the 17-goal total is the most the Cardinals have ever scored in 50 all-time meetings against their Little 3 rivals.
 
An all-around team effort saw the Cardinals feature nine players with at least two points while Wesleyan went 6-for-10 on free position shots for the second straight game. The Cardinals held a commanding 23-12 lead in ground balls while generating 10 free position shots compared to only three for the Mammoths.
 
Kendall Mittleman '23 went 3-for-3 on her free position shots, on her way to matching her career-high with four goals. Gil Horst '23 matched her career-high with four points (two goals, two assists) while Kate Balicki '23 totaled four points (three goals, one assist) while she has a hat trick in three straight games.
 
Bridget Horst '26 contributed all over the field, recording two goals for her first career multi-goal game while adding six draw controls, four ground balls, and one caused turnover. Erin Trotta '23 led the Cardinal defense with three caused turnovers while Haley McLaughlin '24 had two caused turnovers and two ground balls.
 
Abby Wolk '22 picked up the win, making five saves with just two goals allowed in 35+ minutes in the cage. Playing a ranked opponent for the fourth straight game, this marks the third straight time that the Cardinals have held a ranked foe to seven goals or less.
 
Both sides struggled to get much going in the first quarter, with the teams combining for 11 turnovers (seven for Amherst). Despite winning all four draws in the quarter, Amherst could only muster one goal as Wolk came up huge with four saves in the first quarter alone.
 
The Cardinals found their offense early and often in the second quarter, outscoring the Mammoths 7-1 in the frame to take a 9-2 lead into halftime. Six different Cardinals scored in the second quarter, as the Mammoths had no answer for a 6-0 Wesleyan run. Draw controls favored Wesleyan 6-3 in the quarter, which helped the Cardinals amass a 12-5 advantage in shots. In the opening 2:11, Wesleyan put home three goals to make it 5-1. Mittleman slipped past her defender with a quick move near-post to make it 8-1 and Gil Horst scored with just 30 seconds remaining before halftime.
 
It was more of the same in the early stages of the third quarter, with Chessy Greenwald '23 finding the back of the net before the Horst sisters both scored in a span of 1:03 to give the Cardinals a double-digit lead of 12-2 with 8:42 left in the third.
 
After Amherst answered back with player-up goals to make it 12-4, Wesleyan ripped off a 5-0 run that put the game away for good. Olivia Lai '23 scored her second of the night before Balicki beat the buzzer to complete her hat trick.
 
Wesleyan heads into a huge Senior Day Saturday contest against the Panthers with play set to begin at Noon from Smith Field.