NEW LONDON, Conn. – Trailing 4-3 at the end of the first quarter, the No. 8 Wesleyan men's lacrosse team turned on the afterburners and used a 11-1 run over the ensuing 25+ minutes as the Cardinals earned a 19-9 win over Conn. College to close out the regular season on Wednesday night from Silfen Field. By way of tonight's win, coupled with Williams' 12-11 win over Middlebury, the Cardinals (10-4, 7-3 NESCAC) enter the postseason as the #3 seed and will host #6 Bates in the NESCAC Quarterfinal round this weekend.
 
A back-and-forth first quarter saw the Cardinals score three unanswered to start the proceedings. In his first game back from missing the Bowdoin game on Saturday, CK Giancola '24, G'25 scored on his first shot attempt before James Bailey '26 hit the back of the net on the ensuing possession and Will Shull '25 later netted an unassisted goal to make it 3-0.
 
Conn responded with a 4-0 run of their own, getting goals from four different players including an Aidan McAvoy strike with just 22 seconds left to put the Camels ahead 4-3 after one.
 
The game then took a sudden turn in the second quarter, with the Cardinals scoring four straight while outscoring Conn 6-1 in the frame to hold a 9-5 lead at the half. Will Miller '26, who also made his return after missing Saturday's game at Bowdoin, was the difference maker in the second quarter as he scored or assisted on four of Wesleyan's six goals. Ben Burns '26 scored twice in the second quarter while Miller dished to Bailey who lit the lamp with just four seconds remaining before halftime.
 
It was more of the same in the third quarter, as the Cardinals scored the first five goals to open the second half, continuing a dominant spell of play from the second quarter that resulted in a 11-1 run. Wesleyan scored three times in the third quarter before the Camels touched the ball as Giancola, Shull, and Bailey scored to make it 12-5 Wesleyan.
 
The Camels finally got the ball on offense after nearly four minutes had expired in the quarter, but were denied with a save from Conor Selfridge. Giancola then scored and later assisted on a goal just 1:11 apart to hand the Cardinals a 14-5 lead. The game was put to bed early in the fourth quarter when Giancola scored for the fourth time in the second half, followed by Shull's third goal as the senior midfielder completed his hat trick to give Wesleyan a double-digit lead with 9:34 remaining.
 
Both benches emptied as the fourth quarter went along while the Cardinals got goals from Matt Morrow '27 and Drew Ambrose '27 before time expired on the 19-9 win.
 
Wesleyan outshot Conn 49-35 in the game including a 30-17 margin in the second and third quarters combined. The Cardinals turned the ball over just 11 times, their second-fewest turnovers committed in a game this season.
 
Miller exploded for a career-high seven points on one goal and a career-best six assists for the junior midfielder. Giancola scored six times, matching his season-high, on 12 shots as he leads the team with 42 goals this season. Bailey, Shull, and Burns each scored three times while Jack Raba '23, G'25 had one goal and three assists for four points.
 
Selfridge made 10 saves with eight goals allowed in over 53 minutes before exiting for Silas Hamblett '28 who made three stops with one goal allowed in the final 6+ minutes.
 
Tyler Campbell '25 led the faceoff unit going 9-for-13 with three ground balls. Joe Hurton '27 led the defense with three caused turnovers and two ground balls.
 
Wesleyan heads into the NESCAC Tournament this weekend where they will play host to Bates in the Quarterfinal round. The Cardinals defeated the Bobcats 16-12 in Lewiston back on March 22 in a game that saw Giancola put up six goals while Bailey dished out five assists.