MEDFORD, Mass. – The defending NESCAC Champion Wesleyan men's lacrosse team heads into championship weekend of the 2025 NESCAC Tournament looking to defend last year's title. The three-seed Cardinals (11-4) square off against two-seed Bowdoin (13-2) on Saturday in the Semifinal round and the winner of that game will face the winner of the other Semifinal featuring top-seed Tufts (16-0) against five-seed Middlebury (9-7).
Competing in the NESCAC Tournament for the 21
st time in team history, Wesleyan advanced to the Semifinal round for the 16
th time. The Cardinals have won three NESCAC Championships (2009, 2017, 2024) and are looking to repeat last year's success that saw Wesleyan take down Hamilton 12-6 in the Semifinal before defeating Middlebury 9-7 in the title game on Jackson Field.
The Cardinals are set to face Bowdoin for the first time in the postseason since 2016 and the two sides met just two weeks ago in the regular season when the Polar Bears defeated Wesleyan 14-10 in Brunswick. The shorthanded Cardinals were playing without four regular starters in that contest but still hung in against a Top 5 nationally ranked squad on the road, with
Conor Selfridge '26 making a career-high 20 saves and
Jack Raba '23, G'25 scoring or assisting on seven of the team's 10 goals despite the loss.
Wesleyan features the NESCAC's second-highest scoring offense (15.3 goals per game) and the fourth-best defense in terms of goals against average (10.1). Efficiency has been a key all season, with the Cardinals leading the NESCAC in shot percentage (.343). Four attacking players were named All-NESCAC including First Team selections in Raba and
CK Giancola '24, G'25 and Second Teamers
Ben Burns '26 and
James Bailey '26. Raba leads the NESCAC in assists (56) and assists per game (3.73) while he ranks 2
nd nationally in that category. Giancola averages 3.36 goals per game, third-best in the NESCAC, while Burns' 2.6 goals per game is sixth-best in the league. Bailey has 20 goals and 23 assists from the midfield spot.
Will Miller '26 has enjoyed a breakout campaign this season with 25 goals and 20 assists in 14 games played, giving the Cardinals another weapon on attack.
Selfridge has been the everyday starter in goal all season, sporting a .568 save percentage and 10.2 goals against average in 825+ minutes. Among the consistent starters around the NESCAC, Selfridge ranks third in save percentage, fourth in goals against average, and fifth in saves per game (12.3). He has just three games with a save percentage below 50 percent out of 15 appearances in 2025.
Leading the defense is All-NESCAC Second Team selection
Emmett Schillinger '25 as the stalwart has 45 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers while having started 34 consecutive games heading into the weekend. He is joined by
Reef Kabalin '25, who leads the team with 21 caused turnovers this year, as well as
Jared Cohen '25 (21 GB, 3 CT),
Lucca Casagrande '26 (9 GB, 8 CT), and
Doug Rabin '26 (7 GB, 5 CT). The group of short stick defensive midfielders includes All-NESCAC Second Team selection
Charlie Wilmot '26 (30 GB, 4 CT, 7 points),
Charlie Hoban '25 (22 GB, 8 CT, 5 goals),
Matt May '25 (17 GB, 5 CT), and
Matt Rettinger '25 (17 GB, 2 CT).
Headlining the faceoff unit is four-year starter
Tyler Campbell '25 who has a career .549 win percentage in 1012 opportunities. Campbell has 145 wins in 267 opportunities this season (.543 percentage) with 52 ground balls.
Jack Doherty '28 has established himself in the lineup and has won 40-of-78 opportunities for a .513 win percentage in his rookie season. Supporting the faceoff specialists on the wins has been a group headlined by Wilmot with long stick midfielders
Joe Hurton '27 (27 GB, 16 CT) and
Scott Cunningham '27 (24 GB, 4 CT) playing a key role.
Bowdoin is one of the nation's elite teams, having advanced to the national semifinal last season, while the team competed in the third round of the NCAA Tournament in 2022. The Polar Bears average 15.2 goals per game, which is right behind Wesleyan's scoring average, while the team has the best defense in the NESCAC with just an 8.81 goals against average through 15 games. Patrick Fitzgerald leads the NESCAC with 62 goals and 4.13 goals per game while Casey Ryan has 49 assists and his 3.27 assists per game is second-best in the NESCAC. Bowdoin commits the second-fewest turnovers per game in the NESCAC, causes the second-most turnovers per game (9.93), and has the fourth-best faceoff win percentage (.575). Jed Hoggard was voted the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year this season, tallying 63 ground balls and 28 caused turnovers to go along with 12 points.
