SALISBURY, Md. – The No. 6 ranked Wesleyan men's lacrosse team gave No. 3 Salisbury all they could handle in the first half, taking a 9-6 lead into halftime, but the Gulls responded in a big way, scoring eight unanswered goals coming out of halftime to claim a 16-12 home win in a Top 10 matchup. Wesleyan drops to 1-1 on the season while Salisbury remains unbeaten at 6-0.
Wesleyan made the most of their opportunities in the first half, generating nine goals before halftime including an 8-3 run after going down 3-1 in the early going, to take the three-goal lead at the break.
Ben Burns '26 got the scoring started just 44 seconds into play on the first Wesleyan offensive possession of the game, but the Gulls answered right back with goals on three of their next four possessions, taking a 3-1 lead just 3:24 into play.
The Cardinal defense tightened up over the ensuing 10 minutes, holding Salisbury scoreless up until the final 30 seconds of the quarter, meanwhile the Wesleyan offense continued to deliver with three unanswered goals including two off the stick of
Will Miller '26 while
Jack Raba '23, G'25 assisted on two of the three markers.
Wesleyan made their move in the second quarter, after a back-and-forth goal-scoring barrage in the opening 4+ minutes, the Cardinals scored three unanswered goals before halftime to take a three-goal lead. Raba got into the scoring act with his first of the day followed by an unassisted
Will Shull '26 goal and Raba later found
CK Giancola '24, G'25 who scored to complete the run.
A slow start to the second half saw Salisbury score first on their first possession, but then neither team scored for almost 10 minutes, before Riley Strub started a string of three Gull goals in a span of 2:35 that gave Salisbury a 10-9 lead heading into the fourth.
The barrage continued in the first 3+ minutes of the fourth, as Salisbury found the net four more times to extend their lead to 14-9. Miller scored to make it 14-10 with 10:12 remaining and he later netted another to close the gap to 15-12 with 55 seconds left, but the damage had been done and Salisbury added another late marker to complete the win.
Wesleyan managed to outshoot Salisbury 40-36 and finished level in ground balls at 31-31. Miller put up six points, matching his career-high, while he scored four goals for his first career hat trick. Raba totaled five points on one goal and four assists. Giancola finished with three goals and four ground balls.
The Cardinals have a quick turnaround as the team heads to Galloway, New Jersey for a Monday afternoon clash with Stockton at 1 PM.
