MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Locked in a battle between NESCAC rivals, the No. 2 Wesleyan women's lacrosse team outscored No. 10 Trinity 4-1 in the second half to overcome a halftime deficit and land a 7-5 win over the Bantams in the NCAA Quarterfinal round on Sunday afternoon from Smith Field.
The dramatic win sends the Cardinals (18-3) to the Final Four for just the second time in program history and first since 2019. Wesleyan's triumph over Trinity breaks the single-season wins record, eclipsing the 2019 squad's 17-win season for the most in program history. Awaiting the Cardinals in the NCAA Semifinal is a matchup against No. 3 Salisbury on Friday at 3 PM from Judson Stadium on the campus of RIT.
Facing a familiar foe on a sun-soaked near-90 degree afternoon, both sides struggled to string together successful possessions on attack as the two defenses shined throughout.
Dylan Green '26 drove to cage for the opening goal 1:51 into play but was answered right back with Lily Acerra finding the back of the net less than two minutes later.
Following the Acerra goal, the two sides turned the ball over on seven consecutive possessions, none of which featured a shot. It took a free position goal from Acerra to break the tie and even though
Becca Dibble '26 broke loose in the middle of the Trinity defense for a game-tying goal, Alex Lesko put the Bantams up 3-2 with a late tally to end the first.
An extended scoreless streak followed, with neither side scoring for more than eight consecutive minutes, before
Bridget Horst '26 slipped her way through the Trinity defense to net a player-up goal midway through the second. Trinity goalkeeper Alison MacDougall denied
Elle Priesing '26 on a point-blank shot in transition which led to a ground ball for Sydney Aitkenhead who ran the full length of the field before giving off to Kaeley Zito who made no mistake, making it 4-3 Bantams at halftime.
Green cashed in on the first possession of the second half, netting a free position goal to tie the score.
Addie Cummings '26 later snuck in a shot inside the left post to give the Cardinals their first lead since the opening minutes of the contest.
Izzy Weintraub '26 made a stop on Kaeley Zito a few minutes after the go-ahead Cummings goal and
Lindsey Diomede '26 forced a turnover as the Wesleyan defense continued to make life difficult on the Bantams.
With Trinity playing impressive defense themselves, it took something special to get one past McDougall today and the Cardinals did just that late in the third. Green held the ball at the top of the zone late in the shot clock. She sent a pass towards
Maddie Shoemaker '27 with heavy traffic around her in front of cage. Shoemaker reached inside to her left to grab the pass then spun back to her right before finding space to beta McDougall and make it 6-4 Wesleyan heading into the fourth.
Trinity opened the fourth with a free position chance that sailed wide from Zito and after a yellow card on Charlotte Troy, the Cardinals pushed the ball upfield courtesy of Horst who passed right in front to Cummings for a crucial goal early in the fourth. Trinity broke a scoreless streak of more than 23 minutes with a goal from Troy to cut the deficit to 7-5 with 11:18 left to play.
Down the stretch, Wesleyan won this game on the strength of their defense, forcing Trinity into seven turnovers in the fourth quarter while Weintraub made three saves, all of which came in the final four minutes of play to preserve the two-goal lead. Trinity sped up play down the stretch but were unable to draw closer as one final caused turnover from
Lindsey Diomede '26 finished off the thrilling win.
Two crucial stats that went the way of Wesleyan came on the draw controls, as the Cardinals posted a 10-4 advantage for the game, as well as free position shots where Trinity went 1-for-6 in the contest.
Green either scored or assisted on five of Wesleyan's seven goals as she totaled two goals and three assists to go along with two caused turnovers and two draw controls. Cummings scored twice to reach the 100-career point milestone and Horst had one goal and one assist.
Diomede was everywhere on defense for the Cardinals as the senior midfielder posted seven caused turnovers, three ground balls, and two draw controls.
Elise Kurtis '29 finished with three caused turnovers and three ground balls and
Lilly Stoller '26 had three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Weintraub finished with six saves and four ground balls in cage.
Wesleyan prepares for a NCAA Semifinal showdown with No. 3 Salisbury on Friday at 3 PM with a trip to the National Championship game on the line. The Cardinals and Sea Gulls met in Maryland back in 2024 for the only prior meeting between the two sides, which was a 13-7 Wesleyan win.
