MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The No. 2 Wesleyan women's lacrosse team is set to appear in its second Final Four in program history as the Cardinals will take on No. 3 Salisbury in Rochester, New York on Friday at 3:00 PM at Judson Stadium on the campus of RIT. The Cardinals are coming off a 7-5 win over Trinity on Sunday in their third-ever Elite 8 contest, moving into the NCAA Semifinals for the first time since 2019.
 
Tournament Details
2026 Bracket | Game Page
Wesleyan (18-3) vs. Salisbury (20-0)
Date: Friday, May 22, 2026 – 3:00 PM
Location: Judson Stadium – Rochester, N.Y.
Live Coverage: Live Stats | Live Video
Full Wesleyan Game Notes vs. Salisbury
 
Tournament Schedule
Semifinals – May 22
No. 1 Middlebury vs. No. 4 Tufts – 12:00 PM
No. 2 Wesleyan vs. No. 3 Salisbury – 3:00 PM
Championship – May 24
Two Winning Teams – 3:00 PM
 
FIRST OF ALL
- Wesleyan is making just its second all-time appearance in the NCAA Semifinals on Thursday, and its first since the 2019 season.
- Wesleyan is 13-7 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
- The Cardinals are seeking their first-ever National Championship game appearance in program history on Friday.
- Wesleyan ranked No. 3 in the final NPI ranking system that determined the NCAA Tournament field.
- The Cardinals are ranked No. 2 in the latest IWLCA Top 25 poll. Wesleyan has been ranked inside the Top 4 nationally all season long.
- Wesleyan ranks Top 10 nationally in scoring defense (6.00) and save percentage (.508) while the Cardinals clearing percentage (.864) is Top 20 among all D3 programs. 
- This marks the 11th consecutive season wherein the Cardinals recorded 11+ wins and qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
- Prior to this eight-season run (starting in 2017), the Cardinals had never won double-digit games or qualified for the NCAA Tournament in the program's history (first varsity season came in 1976).
- Wesleyan heads into Friday with an 18-3 record, the highest single-season win total in program history, surpassing the 2019 squad that won 17 games and was the first in team history to advance to the Final Four.
- The Cardinals have a 12-player senior class, the biggest class as well as the winningest four-year class in program history. This group heads into Friday with 64 wins.
 
WESLEYAN IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
- The Cardinals are back in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth straight season, comprising all eight all-time NCAA Tournament appearances in program history.
- Wesleyan has won at least one game in all but one of its eight tournament appearances.
- The Cardinals have made it to the Quarterfinal round three times while this marks just the second Semifinal trip in program history.
- In neutral site games in NCAA Tournament play, Wesleyan is 3-4 all-time.
- The Cardinals are 12-2 all-time against non-NESCAC teams in the NCAA Tournament and are winners of six straight games playing non-NESCAC's heading into Friday.
 
THE TOURNAMENT THUS FAR STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- In the three games thus far, Wesleyan has held all three opponents to seven goals or less, with the Cardinals allowing just 15 goals in the three games.
- Wesleyan defeated Cortland 18-3 in the Second Round, matching the team's season-high in goals scored and fewest goals allowed in a game.
- Bridget Horst leads the team in goals (eight) and points (11) thus far in the NCAA Tournament as she recorded a career-high seven points (five goals, two assists) in a 14-7 Third Round win over UChicago. Horst's seven-point game tied a team record for most points and most goals scored in a NCAA Tournament game.
- Kyra Browne has been the primary midfielder on the draws for Wesleyan and she has delivered with 11 draw controls in the three games while her play was vital in the Quarterfinal against Trinity where Wesleyan held a 10-4 edge in draw controls.
- Lindsey Diomede has 16 caused turnovers, seven ground balls, and three draw controls across the NCAA Tournament.
- As a team, Wesleyan totaled 19 caused turnovers in the win over Trinity, tied for the second-highest single-game total for the Cardinals this season. Through three games, the Cardinals have 42 caused turnovers (14 per game).
- Izzy Weintraub has been at her best in the NCAA Tournament, posting a save percentage above 50 percent in all three games. She matched her career-high with 12 saves (seven goals allowed) against UChicago and then she posted six saves (five goals allowed) and held Trinity to a 1-for-6 showing on free position shots in the Quarterfinal win. For the Tournament, she has 21 saves and a .600 save percentage.
- Addie Cummings has six goals and nine points while Dylan Green has the same stat line (six goals, three assists) across the NCAA Tournament.
- Becca Dibble is riding a season-high three-game goal scoring streak as she has six points in three games.
- Wesleyan has defeated two opponents with red or a darker version of red (maroon) as one of its primary colors, knocking off the Cortland Red Dragons and the UChicago Maroons.
 
MORE STAT STUFFERS
- Lindsey Diomede has rewrote the record books at Wesleyan with an incredible 2026 season, heading into Friday with 77 caused turnovers and 62 ground balls. The senior defensive midfielder was named 2026 NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first Cardinal in team history to earn POY honors. Her 77 caused turnovers are more than double the previous single-season record (38) at Wes while her ground ball total has the previous record (48) well beat. She also ranks second on the team with 53 draw controls this year.
- The IWLCA has awarded two National D3 Defensive Player of the Week awards thus far during the NCAA Tournament and Diomede has won both of those weekly honors.
- Izzy Weintraub is the program's first-ever goalkeeper to earn three career All-NESCAC honors as she is a two-time First Team selection. She has started 62 consecutive games and ranks first all-time at Wesleyan in career goals against average (7.11), save percentage (.492), and wins (51). Her 2026 season is the best by a goalie in team history, as Weintraub sports a 5.97 goals against average and .518 save percentage in nearly 1,200 minutes of work in the cage.
- Dylan Green ranks eighth all-time at Wesleyan with 132 career points while she is sixth all-time at Wes with 46 career assists. Green has 106 of those points over the last two seasons.
- Wesleyan features three 100-point scorers in Green (132), Addie Cummings (101) and Elle Priesing (100).
- Cummings went from accumulating one goal in 11 games played across her first two years at Wes to amassing 100 points and 76 goals in her junior and senior seasons combined. 
- Becca Dibble has 29 points on the season and 17 of those points (10 goals, seven assists) have come in the past eight games.
 
MORE INTERESTING TID BITS
- The Cardinals are 17-0 this season when gathering at least nine draw controls.
- The Cardinals are 10-0 this year when the team scores at least twice on the free position. Wesleyan is 1-for-4 on free positions in the three losses combined.
- Wesleyan has not lost a game this season when the Cardinals have won the draw control battle as Wes is 14-0 in games where they record more draw control wins compared to their opponent. In the three Wesleyan loses, the Cardinals are -19 on draws (33 wins for the opposition, 14 wins for Wes).
- Wesleyan has been outshot just three times in 2026 and the Cardinals sport a 1-2 record in those three instances.
- Wesleyan is undefeated (11-0) when Maddie Shoemaker scores at least once.
- When Mya Waryas tallies a multi-goal game, the Cardinals are 8-0 this year.
- In games where Wesleyan produces 22+ shots, the Cardinals are 15-0.
- This is the first time Wesleyan will be playing in Rochester in program history as the Cardinals have never faced RIT or the University of Rochester.
 
MORE ABOUT COACH WILLIAMS
- The Quarterfinal win over Trinity marked the 150th career coaching win for Williams as she has 130 wins with the Cardinals as well as 20 wins in two seasons as the first-ever head coach at Stockton.
- Graduated from C.W. Post in 2010 as a three-time IWLCA All-American  as well as the 2010 IWLCA D2 Defender of the Year. She led the then-Pioneers to four Final Four appearances as well as the 2007 D2 National Championship.
- Willliams took over at Wesleyan in 2016 when the Cardinals had accumulated eight consecutive losing seasons. Since her arrival, the team has posted 11+ wins eight times, something the program had never done before her arrival.
- With 130 career wins at Wesleyan, Williams is the all-time winningest coach in program history.
- Wesleyan has seen at least six player earn All-Region honors for eight seasons running (2018-26).
 
CONFERENCE CONCLUSIONS
- The NESCAC has three teams in the NCAA Semifinals, the second straight year this has happened.
- Since 1994, the NESCAC has had at least one team advance to the Final Four, marking 34 consecutive seasons.
- The 2026 NCAA Quarterfinal round featured five NESCAC schools with two Regional pods featuring an all-NESCAC Quarterfinal game (Wesleyan vs. Trinity and Tufts vs. Williams).

ABOUT SALISBURY
- The Sea Gulls are making their 15th all-time appearance in the Final Four and third time in the last six years
- Salisbury advanced to the NCAA Semifinals with wins against Union, No. 14 York, and No. 19 Christopher Newport
- The Sea Gulls are 20-0, standing with No. 1 Middlebury as the last unbeaten teams in D3 women's lacrosse
- Eleven of the 20 wins for Salisbury this season have come against ranked opponents including there against Top 10 squads
- Senior attack Audrey Harrington leads the team with 86 points (45 goals, 41 assists) on the year while fellow classmate Miranda Mears has a team-high 59 goals
- Senior defender Abby Fleishell leads Salisbury in ground balls (50), caused turnovers (35), and draw controls (65) this season
- Junior midfielder Reagan McDonnell contributes all over the field with 37 points, 26 ground balls, 24 caused turnovers, and 63 draw controls
- Senior goalkeeper Paige Ellis has started all 20 games and comes in with a 7.33 goals against average and .462 save percentage