SALISBURY, Md. – Back in action for the first time since a home defeat to No. 9 ranked Colby, the No. 11 ranked Wesleyan women's lacrosse team bounced back in a big way as the Cardinals handled No. 5 Salisbury in a 13-7 road win on Sunday. Wesleyan (1-1) earns their fifth road win over a Top 5 ranked in team history while also handing the Gulls (4-1) their first loss of the season in what was the first all-time meeting between the two teams.
 
Even in a rather convincing six-goal margin, the Cardinals struggled in the early going, falling behind 4-1 early in the second quarter before Kiara Tangney '25 was issued a yellow card. Playing a player-down and with Salisbury's Erin Scannell lining up a free position attempt, the turning point of the game was Izzy Weintraub '26 come up with a huge stop in the cage. A quick flip of the field saw the Cardinals possess in the Gulls' defensive end before Sam DeLeo '25 netted her first of the season, a crucial player-down goal that flipped momentum.
 
Weintraub went on to dominate the second quarter and the remainder of the game, making five of her career-high 11 saves in the frame. She made consecutive saves in a span of six seconds on the ensuing Salisbury possession, keeping the two-goal deficit intact. The Cardinal offense then kicked into high gear with three goals from three different players coming in just 3:13 late in the second quarter. Tangney finished a feed from Laura Baine '24 before Baine found her scoring touch a minute later and Georgia Mackie '24 finished off the quick 3-0 burst to give Wesleyan their first lead of the game.
 
Salisbury stymied a 11-minute goalless drought to tie the score, but Becca Dibble '26 came up with a free position strike with just 19 seconds left in the first half, handing the Cardinals a 6-5 lead at halftime.
 
The two sides traded goals for most of the third quarter, but the Cardinals continued to lead throughout. Wesleyan then benefitted from another late-quarter goal, this time from Olivia Lai '23, who's unassisted tally gave the Cardinals a 9-7 lead heading into the fourth.
 
The fourth quarter was all-Wesleyan, as the Cardinals scored all four goals in the quarter, while holding Salisbury scoreless for the final 17:18 of the contest. Julia Noyes '24 forced two turnovers in the early stages of the fourth, while Weintraub made another save, before Dibble fed Baine for a goal that gave the Cardinals their first three-goal lead at 10-7 with 9:21 remaining.
 
Coming out of a Salisbury timeout, the Gulls came up empty on a possession and following a yellow card, DeLeo made them pay with her second goal of the day. Another Salisbury timeout didn't slow the Cardinals down as Lindsey Diomede '26 won the draw and Tangney netted an unassisted goal a minute later. Diomede won the next draw and the Gulls took another yellow card playing desperation defense, resulting in a Diomede player-up goal that sealed the 13-7 Wesleyan win.
 
Weintraub was stellar on the day, making 11 saves in what was just her second career start. After Salisbury scored on their first free position shot, the Gulls went 0-for-5 on those chances for the remainder of play with Weintraub making saves on four of those shots.
 
Dibble and Baine both finished three points on two goals and one assist. For Dibble, this marked her first career multi-goal game as well as a career-high point total.
 
Lai led the Cardinals with three goals, recording her 27^th career hat trick, while Tangney and DeLeo added two goals each.
 
Bridget Horst '26 (seven) and Diomede (six) combined for 13 draw controls as the Cardinals won the draw control battle 14-10 for the game. Diomede's six draw controls are a career-high while she also netted her first goal of the season.
 
Wesleyan's trip to Maryland continues this week as the Cardinals head to Washington, D.C. for a Wednesday afternoon showdown at Catholic.