MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Just over 24 hours removed from an overtime heartbreaker, the No. 2 Wesleyan women's lacrosse team bounced back in a big way by defeating No. 7 William Smith 10-6 on Smith Field on Sunday afternoon. Wesleyan improves to 11-2 on the year while the Herons (12-2) see their seven-game win streak snapped.
Both sides came out swinging in the first quarter with six total goals scored in the opening 15 minutes.
Bridget Horst '26 broke through with a goal on the first possession of the game while Kira Fulton scored for the Herons on the first William Smith offensive possession.
Maddie Shoemaker '27 made the most of a free position opportunity at the 9:11 mark while
Mya Waryas '27 made it two straight Cardinal goals as
Addie Cummings '26 recorded her second assist in the first quarter on the Waryas goal. Grace Rund answered back for William Smith but Horst restored the two-goal Wesleyan advantage with her second tally of the quarter.
Wesleyan thoroughly dominated the second quarter, outscoring William Smith 4-0 while holding the Herons to just one shot attempt and four turnovers on five total possession for the Herons in the frame. After
Elise Kurtis '29 forced a turnover on the defensive end,
Dylan Green '26 ripped a shot from 15 feet out. Waryas then took the game over with a natural hat trick, scoring three straight goals for Wesleyan with one on a free position, another on a player-up chance, and the third in open play.
The 5-0 scoring run spotted the Cardinals an 8-2 halftime lead, but a William Smith response was incoming as Cat Colvin netted a goal 2:21 into the second half and Katie Grottenthaler made it 8-4 with a marker just 1:36 later.
With the William Smith bench activated, Wesleyan leaned on their defense to regain control as
Lindsey Diomede '26 and Kurtis both forced turnovers in a span of three minutes while the Herons couldn't score on a possession that featured five shot attempts late on in the frame.
Izzy Weintraub '26 made saves on Delaney Cassidy and Grace Rund on a free position. Cummings found the back of the net as well midway through the quarter to give the Cardinals a 9-4 lead heading into the fourth.
Weintraub and the Cardinal defense continued to shine, holding the Herons scoreless for the opening 6+ minutes before Colvin netted her second of the day. Grottenthaler grabbed the ensuing draw control and William Smith had a chance to cut the margin down to three with under eight minutes left but Weintraub again denied Cassidy and Waryas scored her fifth goal on the next Cardinal possession to help secure the win.
Waryas finished with her first career five-goal game as the junior attack scored goals on all five of her shot attempts in the contest. Cummings totaled one goal and two assists while Horst scored twice and Green had one goal and one assist.
Weintraub totaled seven saves for a save percentage north of 50 percent in this one. Diomede tallied four draw controls, three caused turnovers, and two ground balls while Kurtis registered four ground balls and two caused turnovers.
After a busy three-game week, the Cardinals have just one contest in the week ahead which is on Saturday as Wesleyan hosts Williams at Noon for Senior Day while the Little Three title is on the line.
