MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – After putting up five unanswered goals in the opening nine minutes, the No. 7 ranked Wesleyan women's lacrosse team saw Hamilton work their way back to a three-goal deficit after three quarters, until a dominating 4-0 fourth quarter for the Cardinals put away a 14-7 win for the hosts on Saturday afternoon from Smith Field. Wesleyan (9-2, 5-2 NESCAC) ups their win streak to four overall and six straight at home while the Continentals (5-5, 4-4 NESCAC) see their two-game win streak come to an end.
 
A blistering start to this one saw the Cardinals hit Hamilton with five straight goals in a span of just over five minutes of play. Four of those five goals came on free positions, with Olivia Lai '23 converting the first two before Becca Dibble '26 and Molly Greer '24 got involved in the scoring. Laura Baine '24 also scored in the 5-0 run as she was left alone in front on a defensive miscue.
 
Hamilton slowly worked their way back in the game over the course of the next 35+ minutes, starting with two late goals in the first quarter to make it 5-2 after one. The Continentals' goalkeeper Eliza Schwarz kept her team in the game in the second quarter, making four of her six saves in that period to keep the deficit at 6-3 heading into halftime.
 
Momentum from Bridget Horst's '26 late goal in the second quarter carried over into the third as Izzy Weintraub '26 made a save on Sarah Stonestreet, leading to a Lai goal on the ensuing Cardinal offensive possession. Weintraub made another save two minutes later and after a successful clearance, Lai scored for the fourth time in the game and third on a free position as she made it 8-3 Cardinals.
 
It was later 10-5 Wesleyan with under three minutes left in the third quarter, but Hamilton scored twice before the buzzer sounded, including one from Sydney Anzelone on a free position with just 0.8 seconds showing on the scoreboard, as it was a 10-7 game heading into the fourth.
 
Unfazed by the Continental rally attempt, the Cardinals went right to work on offense in the fourth, with Brooke Nelson '24 scoring off a great feed from Kiara Tangney '25 on the first Wesleyan possession of the quarter. Lai then hit Hamilton with her fifth goal on the day before Tangney scored, making it three Cardinal goals on three offensive possessions to start the fourth.
 
Now leading 13-7, the Cardinal defense put the game away as Hamilton managed just three shots in the entire fourth quarter while committing seven turnovers. Wesleyan also held a commanding 10-3 edge in ground balls in the final frame, as the Cardinals managed to pull away late in a commanding 4-0 fourth quarter, winning 14-7.
 
Weintraub was excellent throughout, making eight saves which is tied for her second-highest single-game total of her career. Greer led the Cardinal defense with six caused turnovers, matching her career-high from Wednesday's 16-12 win over Trinity, while adding three ground balls and one goal. Both Tangney and Dylan Green '26 had two caused turnovers each, while Tangney and Haley McLaughlin '24 both had three ground balls.
 
Leading the Cardinal offense was Lai who netted five goals on five shots as the graduate attack has nine goals over the last two games alone. Baine continued her hot streak, totaling four points (three goals, one assist) as she has a hat trick in three straight and in six of the last seven games. Six other Cardinals got involved in the scoring with one goal each.
 
Saturday's win sets the stage for a spotlight Sunday non-conference showdown as No. 2 ranked William Smith comes to Middletown for a 1 PM start.