BRUNSWICK, Me. – Despite a career-high 20 saves from Conor Selfridge '26 in goal, the No. 7 Wesleyan men's lacrosse team fell short in a 14-10 loss to No. 6 Bowdoin from Whittier Field on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals fall to 9-4 (6-3 NESCAC), with all four losses coming to teams ranked inside the Top 15 nationally, while the Polar Bears are 12-1 (8-1 NESCAC) heading into a clash on Wednesday with No. 1 Tufts that will determine the #1 seed for the upcoming NESCAC Tournament.
 
Facing one of the nation's elite on the road without three regular starters on attack, the Cardinals had a tall task and fell behind early with Bowdoin scoring four times in the opening 5:56 of play to lead 4-1. Wesleyan settled in and managed goals from Ben Burns '26 and Jack Raba '23, G'25 in the closing minutes to shrink the deficit to 5-3.
 
Selfridge was unbelievable in the second quarter, as the junior goalkeeper made eight saves in the frame including six straight to start the period, as he kept the Cardinals in the game despite Bowdoin outshooting Wesleyan 21-8 in the quarter. Raba scored with 45 seconds left before halftime, closing the deficit to 7-4 at the break.
 
Bowdoin then started to separate in the third quarter, scoring three unanswered in a span of 3:28 to build a 10-4 lead. A quick two-goal burst in just 15 seconds saw Thomas Girimonti '28 and Charlie Hoban '25 score for Wesleyan to make it a four-goal game again. But Bowdoin got a big goal from Patrick Fitzgerald with just six seconds left in the quarter, making it a 11-6 game heading into the fourth.
 
Armed with the five-goal lead, the Polar Bears put the game away with two goals in quick succession to open the fourth, as Fitzgerald scored again followed by an Avery Kirby marker just 18 seconds later to make it 13-6. Wesleyan scored four times in the final 10+ minutes, including three goals from Girimonti, but it was too little too late as Bowdoin claimed the 14-10 win.
 
Selfridge was outstanding despite taking the loss, recording his first career 20-save game which included at least five saves across each of the final three quarters. Raba led the Wesleyan offense with two goals and three assists for five points while Girimonti scored four times for his first career hat trick. Jack Doherty '28 led the faceoff unit going 13-for-20 as Wesleyan held a 16-12 advantage in faceoffs for the game.
 
Wesleyan closes out the regular season with a road game at Conn. College on Wednesday at 6 PM. The Cardinals can finish anywhere from #3 to #5 in the NESCAC standings depending on results from around the league.