WASHINGTON, D.C. – Leading by just one goal midway through the second quarter, the No. 9 ranked Wesleyan women's lacrosse team ripped off an 8-0 run over the ensuing 25+ minutes to defeat Catholic, 12-7, on Wednesday from Carlini Field. Wesleyan (2-1) completes their spring break trip in Maryland with back-to-back wins while Catholic (1-4) losses for the fourth time this season to a ranked opponent.
 
Despite outshooting Catholic 12-1 in the first quarter, Wesleyan only led 3-1 at the end of the frame as Catholic's goalkeeper Lauren Davidson post five saves and the hosts scored on their only shot attempt in the quarter.

The visiting Cardinals continued to supply the pressure in the second quarter, but Catholic again made the most of their limited opportunities, cutting the deficit to just one with 5:45 left before halftime. A Wesleyan timeout led to a crucial end-of-half as Olivia Lai '23 put away a free position goal on the next possession and Molly Greer '24 buried her free position shot attempt just two minutes later to make it 6-3 at the half.
 
Both defenses dominated in the third quarter, as neither side scored for the first 11+ minutes before Sam DeLeo '25 put away a chance with 3:15 left in the frame, which was followed by a Bridget Horst '26 tally that made it 8-3 Wesleyan.
 
The visitors flipped the script in the fourth, generating four goals in a span of 2:31, giving Wesleyan a nine-goal advantage in what was a one-goal game nearly 26 minutes prior. Lindsey Diomede '26 started the scoring spree with her second of the day, followed by Lai off a feed from defender Maeve Olson '25 who recorded her second career point on the play. Greer made it 11-3 Wesleyan with her second goal of the game and Lai finished the scoring, completing her 28^th career hat trick in the process.
 
Catholic scored four times (three on player-up opportunities) in a frantic final 9:50 of play wherein Wesleyan was whistled for six cards (four yellow and two green), accounting for the 12-7 final decision.
 
Wesleyan outshot Catholic 35-19 for the game and 27-7 in the opening three quarters combined. Draw controls also heavily favored Wesleyan at 15-7 including a 7-1 edge in the fourth quarter alone. Wesleyan went 4-for-6 on free position shots, compared to 1-of-5 for Catholic with all five shots coming in the fourth quarter.
 
Lai led the way with three goals for Wesleyan to go along with three ground balls and three caused turnovers. Diomede, Horst, and Greer all finished with two goals each while Diomede added four draw controls, two ground balls, and one caused turnover to her totals.
 
As a team, the Cardinals caused 17 Catholic turnovers, spearheaded by Lai's three while Julia Noyes '24 (two caused turnovers, three ground balls) and Kiara Tangney '25 (two caused turnovers, three ground balls, three draw controls) played key roles in the midfield.
 
Wesleyan returns home for a busy stretch that featured three home games over five days, starting with a huge NESCAC and Little Three clash on Saturday at 1 PM against No. 17 Williams.