AMHERST, Mass. – Traveling to face longtime Little Three rival Amherst in a battle between a pair of undefeated teams, the No. 3 Wesleyan women's lacrosse team used a 5-1 second half run to earn a 9-7 win over the No. 5 Mammoths on Wednesday night from Pratt Field. Wesleyan (9-0, 5-0 NESCAC) continues its best start in team history while handing Amherst (8-1, 4-1 NESCAC) its first loss of the season.
 
In a very well-played match between a pair of Top 5 ranked teams, Wesleyan prevailed behind yet another impressive defensive display that saw the Cardinals hold Amherst to just two goals after halftime while Wesleyan outshot Amherst 20-10 across the final three quarters combined.
 
Amherst was the better side in the first quarter, scoring on the first possession of the game and then goals on consecutive possessions late in the frame to build a 3-1 lead. Wesleyan was outshot 7-2 in the first quarter, but the Cardinals did manage to score on one of those two shots as Caroline Cervini '27 found the back of the net.
 
Even though the Mammoths led by two at the end of the first quarter, Izzy Weintraub '26 did well to keep the damage to a minimum as she made three saves in the first quarter alone to keep the deficit within range.
 
The second quarter went scoreless for the opening 7+ minutes before Elle Priesing '26 finished off a Wesleyan possession that saw Mya Waryas '27 hit the post just under a minute prior to Priesing firing home her first of several goals on the night. Priesing and the Cardinals took advantage of a player-up opportunity with the senior attack knotting the score at 3-3 just over two minutes later.
 
Priesing completed her second quarter hat trick with a free position goal in the final minutes before halftime to knot the score at 4-4. Amherst, however, scored late with just 11 seconds left to hold a 5-4 advantage at the break.
 
Weintraub opened the second half with a save on an Emma Crotty free position shot and then a yellow card on Katie Savino created a player-up opportunity that Waryas converted for a game-tying goal. Addie Cummings '26 then gave Wesleyan their first lead of the game as she slid home a goal inside the right post to make it 6-5 midway through the third.
 
A third straight Wesleyan possession finished with a goal as Becca Dibble '26 got into the act and Cummings later made it 8-6 Wesleyan entering the fourth quarter.
 
Priesing netted a big insurance goal just 15 seconds into the fourth as she took a pass from Dylan Green '26 and scored her fourth goal, tying her single-game career-high set last season.
 
Amherst had a free position attempt early in the fourth quarter that was blocked away by the Cardinal defense. Weintraub made a save on Crotty with 11:09 remaining and then Bridget Darcy got one through for a goal that made it 9-7 Wesleyan with 7:13 remaining.
 
It remained a two-goal game throughout the remainder of play as Amherst had two straight possessions end in turnovers with Molly Simon '26 and Lindsey Diomede '26 coming through with some clutch caused turnovers. Wesleyan managed to milk the clock into the final minutes where Cervini drew a free position and her shot attempt was saved but the crucial ground ball was picked up by Waryas with just under one minute left.
 
The Mammoths could only try and pressure for a turnovers but ultimately, Olivia Summers was whistled for a green card with 35 seconds left and that was enough to seal the win for the Cardinals.
 
Priesing's four goals led the way for Wesleyan while Cummings had two goals and one assist and Green finished with two assists. Diomede continued her impressive season, posting four draw controls, three ground balls, two caused turnovers, and one assist. Weintraub made six saves to pick up the win.
 
Next up is a spotlight showdown at No. 1 Middlebury as just one team will leave that game still undefeated and owners of sole possession of first place in the NESCAC standings.