MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The No. 7 ranked Wesleyan women's lacrosse team went behind 10-1 to the No. 1 ranked Middlebury Panthers and couldn't find their way back in a 16-9 defeat from Smith Field on Senior Day Saturday. The Cardinals (8-2, 4-2 NESCAC) drop their first home game of the season while the defending National Champion Panthers (11-0, 7-0 NESCAC) remain unbeaten this season.
 
Middlebury came out with vengeance in the first half, outscoring Wesleyan 5-0 in the first quarter and scoring three more in the first 3:43 of the second quarter to build an 8-0 lead. After Olivia Lai '23 scored to get the Cardinals on the board, Middlebury answered back with goals just 21 seconds apart to take their biggest lead of the game at 10-1.
 
Trailing 10-2 at the half, Wesleyan played their game in the second half and outscored Middlebury 7-6. Wesleyan managed to cut the Middlebury lead down to six with 11:37 remaining as Kendall Mittleman '23 found the back of the net on a free position. But that was as close as the Cardinals would get as Lai completed her hat trick and added another late to give her four goals on the day.
 
Lai made some personal history as the senior's goal early on in the fourth quarter put her at the 100-point mark in her career, making her the 20^th Cardinal in program history to reach the milestone. Lai finished with a game-high four goals to put her at 91 goals and 11 assists in 31 career games, becoming the second-fastest Cardinal in program history to reach the century mark.
 
Haley McLaughlin '24 registered a career-high six ground balls to lead the defensive effort. Bridget Horst '26 totaled five draw controls while both Julia Noyes '24 and Maeve Olson '25 finished with two caused turnovers.
 
The Cardinals look to regroup with the start of a crucial four-game road swing, starting with a Wednesday night showdown at Trinity.