AMHERST, Mass. – In what was the lowest-scoring game between Wesleyan and Amherst since 2013, the No. 9 ranked Cardinals dominated most of the second half before holding off a late charge from the No. 6 Mammoths to walk away with an 8-7 win and a second straight Little Three Championship.
 
Looking to rebound from Saturday's loss at Middlebury, the Cardinals (6-2, 4-1 NESCAC) dialed up a stellar defensive effort to knock off the previously unbeaten Mammoths (7-1, 4-1 NESCAC) in a Top 10 clash between storied rivals.
 
Wesleyan went right to work, outscoring Amherst 3-1 in the first quarter with Gavin Lechner '27 netting the first goal 3:52 into play before James Bailey '26 scored his first of three on the night and Ben Burns '26 closed the stanza with late tally with just three seconds showing on the clock. Goalkeeper Conor Selfridge '26 kept the Mammoths at-bay, making four saves on five shots on goal in the frame.
 
Bailey scored again nearing the midway point of the second quarter to give the Cardinals a 4-1 lead, but after 20+ minutes with just one goal scored, Amherst put together a devastating stretch with four goals coming in a span of 2:31 as the three-goal deficit turned into a 5-4 lead for the Mammoths at the half.
 
The game then took another turn in the third quarter as Wesleyan, who had just lost all six faceoffs in the second quarter, started winning again in the circle to create chances for the attack who delivered with a 3-0 quarter. After the Cardinals hit the post on their first possession in the third, Wesleyan's defense forced a shot clock violation, and on the next trip down the field it was Jack Raba '23, G'25 who took a feed from Bailey to level the score at 5 apiece. Almost two minutes later, it was Bailey who found the back of the net on an unassisted marker as the Cardinals retook the lead.
 
Both teams then went more than eight minutes without scoring until Will Shull '25 scored with 1:03 left in the quarter to give Wesleyan a two-goal lead entering the fourth.
 
Turnovers plagued both sides in the early stages of the fourth quarter, with five of the first six possessions in the period ending in a miscue, that was until Lechner scored his second of the night to cap what was a 4-0 scoring run and give the Cardinals an 8-5 lead with 7:48 remaining.
 
Amherst, who had gone nearly 28 minutes without scoring, got one back off the stick of Dylan Hsu to make it 8-6. An extended Mammoth possession following the Hsu goal led to a turnover in the end as the clock started to become a factor. With the clock ticking under three minutes, Amherst scored again to make it a one-goal game as Willie Doyle made it 8-7 Cardinals with two minutes left.
 
Nicholas Kopp then won the ensuing faceoff clean for Amherst, choosing to carry in towards cage and shoot, but Selfridge was there for the denial to keep the Cardinals out in front. Amherst was able to get the ball back with over a minute to go, but were unable to get a shot on goal before a crucial turnover with 25 seconds left put the ball back in the hands of the Cardinals who wound out the final seconds to land a title-clinching win.
 
This marks the 14^th time in team history that Wesleyan has won the Little Three Championship and the first time the Cardinals have won consecutive titles since 2017-18.
 
Bailey engineered the offense, either scoring or assisting on five of the Cardinals' eight goals as the junior midfielder finished with three goals and two assists. Raba finished with three points (one goal, two assists) while Lecher scored twice and Shull had one goal and one assist.
 
Reef Kabalin '25 led the defense with three caused turnovers while Will Miller '26 had a team-high four ground balls.
 
Selfridge continues to play well in cage, making nine saves with seven goals allowed, giving him a .563 save percentage. The junior goalkeeper has sported a save percentage of .563 or better in seven of the eight games played this season.
 
Next up for Wesleyan is a spotlight showdown at home against the defending national champion and No. 1 ranked Tufts at 1 PM on Saturday from Citrin Field. Wesleyan won the last meeting against the Jumbos, a 16-14 triumph in Medford in the regular season last year.