MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – In a resounding performance, that saw the No. 16 Wesleyan men's lacrosse team outshot Vassar 75-32 (25-2 in the first quarter), the Cardinals shook off Saturday's defeat and rolled past the Brewers in a 19-11 win on Wednesday evening from Citrin Field. Wesleyan improves to 1-1 on the season while Vassar falls to 1-2.
 
The Cardinals opened the contest with four unanswered goals, all in a span of just over four minutes early in the first quarter. James Bailey '26 unleashed a pair of goals from the center of the Vassar defense before Lachlan Simmers '28 found the back of the net, as did Griffyn Flood '29 to make it 4-0 Wesleyan.
 
Wesleyan then was held scoreless for over eight minutes, as Vassar goalkeeper Jess Geoghagan, who was making his first career start in the cage for the Brewers, turned in a stellar effort to deny the Cardinals time and time again. Despite outshooting Vassar 25-2 in the first quarter, Wesleyan only led 5-1 after the frame ended as Geoghagan made 12 saves in the first quarter alone. The freshman goalie went on to make at least five saves in every quarter thereafter, finishing the contest with 30 saves on the night, which is the most for a Vassar goalkeeper since 2005.
 
Bailey completed his hat trick before the first quarter ended as he took a pass from Will Miller '26 and fired in his third goal of the period. The Cardinals went on to score the first three goals of the second quarter to open an 8-1 lead as Charlie Knapp '26, Thomas Girimonti '28, and Gavin Lechner '27 each scored their first of the day.
 
Lechner scored again, this time off a feed from Bailey, while Girimonti fired in another goal while Matt Morrow '27 made it 11-4 at the half with his first goal on the day.
 
The second half was more of the same as the Cardinals outscored Vassar 4-1 in the third quarter to open up a double-digit lead. Wesleyan led by as many as 11 goals on three different occasions in the fourth quarter before finishing off the 19-11 win.
 
Four different Cardinals registered a hat trick including a four-goal night from Lechner while Girimonti, Bailey, and Knapp each scored three times. Lechner added three assists as he tied his career-high with seven points to go along with a career-high seven ground balls. Girimonti finished with three goals and two assists, matching his career-high with five points. Bailey (three goals, one assist) and Miller (one goal, three assists) each had four points while Knapp (three goals) and Flood (one goal, two assists) had three points.
 
Joe Hurton '27 led the defense with a career-high six caused turnovers to go along with five ground balls. Justin Meyreles '27 had three caused turnovers. Jack Stanislaw '27 and Jackson Tinari '26 both went 7-for-14 on face offs while Nico Ianuly '28 went 3-for-5. Conor Selfridge '26 picked up the win, making seven saves while allowing five goals in three quarters of play.
 
Wesleyan heads to Philadelphia this weekend for a spotlight showdown against No. 8 RIT on Sunday in a neutral site matchup from the historic Franklin Field on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.