MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Winners of a team record nine straight games, the two-seed Wesleyan women's lacrosse team looks for a breakthrough weekend as the Cardinals head into the NESCAC Championship weekend hosted by Middlebury College. Wesleyan (14-2) is set to face three-seed Tufts (14-2) in a clash between two of the Top 3 ranked teams in the country. The host Panthers (16-0) face four-seed Colby (11-5) in the other semifinal, with the winners playing in the title match at 1 PM on Sunday.
 
This is the 13^th all-time appearance in the NESCAC Tournament for Wesleyan, seventh straight season the Cardinals have earned a postseason bid, and fourth straight appearance in the NESCAC semifinal round. Wesleyan has matched its highest seed in program history at No. 2, an achievement the team also accomplished last season.
 
Among the high points in the nine-game streak are six wins over nationally ranked teams including signature victories over then-No. 3 ranked Tufts 17-15 and then-No. 2 ranked William Smith 13-10, with both those landmark wins coming at home.
 
Looking at the 2024 regular season, the Cardinals have three wins over Top 5 ranked teams, as Wesleyan also defeated then-No. 5 Salisbury 13-7 on the road back on March 10. The only defeats for Wesleyan in 2024 came in the season opener back on March 2 in a 10-8 loss to then-No. 9 Colby in Middletown and a 12-10 loss to three-time defending NCAA Champion and No. 1 Middlebury in Vermont in a game the Cardinals led midway through the fourth quarter.
 
Wesleyan defeated seven-seed Bowdoin 14-5 in the Quarterfinal round last Saturday at home, allowing just five goals which is the fewest the Cardinals have ever allowed in a NESCAC Tournament game in team history. After holding the Polar Bears scoreless for the first 28+ minutes of play, the Cardinals built a 7-1 lead before pulling away wih a 5-0 run over the final 10+ minutes to secure the comfortable win. Wesleyan outshot Bowdoin 32-14 while going 4-for-8 on free position shots. Laura Baine '24 put up a playoff career-high six points (3G, 3A) while Molly Greer '24 had a four-point game (3G, 1A).
 
That win over Bowdoin set up a rematch of one of the best games ever played on Smith Field, as the Cardinals came from 15-11 down to start the fourth quarter, outscoring Tufts 6-0 in the fourth to earn a 17-15 win back on April 6. Wesleyan's first win over Tufts in Middletown since 2003 came in a very well-played back-and-forth battle of two of the top-ranked teams in the nation. Neither side led by more than two goals throughout the entire first half before the Jumbos looked to be pulling away, up 15-11 after three quarters of play. However, the magical fourth quarter saw Izzy Weintraub '26 make saves on Tufts' last four shots-on-goal in the contest, while holding the nation's top-ranked scoring offense scoreless over the final 19:03 of play. Baine scored five times, a career-high for the senior attack, while Kiara Tangney '25 had a career-high four goals in the contest and Dylan Green '26 had a first half hat trick.
 
Wesleyan employs a well-rounded unit that ranks third in the NESCAC in scoring at 14 goals per game while the defense is second-best in the league at 8.44 goals allowed per game. The Cardinals also rank second in the NESCAC in ground balls (22.0) and caused turnovers (11.38) per game and fourth in draw controls per game (14.2).
 
Laura Baine '24 sits third all-time at Wesleyan in career points (186) and is enjoying a career year with 68 points (42G, 26A) in 16 games. She earned IWLCA National D3 Offensive Player of the Week honors following a week wherein she exploded for seven points (four goals, three assists) in a 17-8 win at Amherst before scoring a career-high five goals in the signature win over Tufts at home.
 
Two-time All-American Olivia Lai '23 is back again, scoring goals in batches for the Cardinals as she has a team-leading 45 scores in 16 games. Lai ranks third all-time at Wesleyan with 151 career goals and has scored at least one goal in all 16 games this season, 11 of which are multi-goal performances.
 
Depth follows the two star point producers for the Cardinals as a group of nine all have double-digit point totals on the season. Molly Greer '24 has 22 goals and eight assists to go along with 18 caused turnovers at midfield. Sam DeLeo '25 is enjoying a breakout junior season with 16 goals and 10 assists with 28 ground balls on attack. Kiara Tangney '25 produces all over the field with 19 goals, six assists, 31 ground balls, 24 caused turnovers, and 42 draw controls. Becca Dibble '26 has 14 goals and 13 assists, ranking second on the team in assists and fourth in points, in her first season as a full-time starter.
 
Bridget Horst '26 sits third in the NESCAC in draw controls per game (5.13) as she has 82 on the season to go along with 12 goals and five assists. Dylan Green '26 has 13 goals and five assists while Lindsey Diomede '26 (8G, 3A) and Brooke Nelson '24 (10G, 1A) have 11 points each and Elle Priesing '26 (7G, 3A) has 10 points.
 
Izzy Weintraub '26 is enjoying a stellar season in her first year as the full-time starter, currently sporting a 8.26 goals against average with a .453 save percentage and 6.0 saves per game. Among the NESCAC goalkeepers who've played 600+ minutes and have qualified for NESCAC Tournament play, Weintraub ranks first in save percentage and second in both goals against average and saves per game. She earned NESCAC Player of the Week honors following her 11-save outing in the 13-7 win over Salisbury.
 
The defense is led by the group of Haley McLaughlin '24, Maeve Olson '25, Molly Simon '26, and Lilly Stoller '26 who have started all but one game this season. Olson leads the pack with 23 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers while Simon has 20 ground balls and nine caused turnovers. Stoller ranks first among defenders on the team with 21 caused turnovers to go along with 18 ground balls and McLaughlin has 17 ground balls and seven caused turnovers.
 
Wesleyan has played for the NESCAC Championship just once in team history and it came in the COVID-affected 2021 season. This will be the fourth NESCAC Tournament meeting between the Cardinals and Jumbos, all of which have come since 2019. Last season, Wesleyan fell 13-11 to the Jumbos in the NESCAC Semifinal at Middlebury.