ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The No. 2 Wesleyan women's lacrosse team saw their record-breaking 2026 campaign come to an end with an 8-6 defeat in the NCAA Championship game to No. 1 Middlebury on Sunday afternoon from Judson Stadium. Wesleyan (19-4) finishes as National Runner-Up for the first time while setting a single-season wins record in the process.
Facing the five-time defending NCAA Champion Panthers, the Cardinals gave their NESCAC rivals all they could handle in the title game. Wesleyan went on a 3-0 first half run to grab a two-goal lead and later held 4-3 and 5-4 advantages in the second half before Middlebury went on a game-deciding 4-0 run between the third and fourth quarters to claim their sixth straight national title and complete an undefeated season.
The Panthers grabbed an early 1-0 early off the stick of Skylar Lach before the Cardinals struck right back as
Caroline Cervini '26 used a quick stick to bury a pass from
Addie Cummings '26 to knot the score. Neither team scored for the next 10 minutes before a late
Mya Waryas '27 goal on a free position shot made it 2-1 Cardinals at the end of the first.
Izzy Weintraub '26 made her second straight stop early in the second quarter, quickly hitting
Lindsey Diomede '26 near midfield with an outlet pass that led to a 4-on-2 break. Diomede passed up to
Becca Dibble '26 who took her time and passed to
Elle Priesing '26 right in front of cage. Middlebury's keeper Elizabeth Savage came off her line which left an open net for Priesing who made it 3-1 Cardinals.
In the face of three unanswered Wesleyan goals, Middlebury netted a pair in a span of just under three minutes to tie the score. Siobhan Colin worked her way to a spinning goal in front of crease and then Caroline Adams made the most of a player-up chance, scoring a game-tying goal on what was the first card Wesleyan was whistled for in the Final Four.
Both teams had opportunities to take the lead before halftime, but Weintraub made back-to-back stops on Colin and Maggie Spehr to keep the Panthers at-bay. Wesleyan then had a player-up late in the quarter but Cummings saw one shot go wide and then was denied by Savage as the score remained 3-3 at halftime.
Weintraub continued to deliver for the Cardinals, coming up with a third straight save to open the second half, and then first-year
Abby Galaris '29 scored on the first Wesleyan offensive possession after halftime to give the Cardinals another one-goal advantage.
Middlebury broke a scoreless run on a Haley Hamilton goal, but
Dylan Green '26 made it 5-4 Wesleyan on a free position goal, taking heavy contact on her drive to cage.
Following Green's goal, however, is when the Panthers made their run, starting a string of four unanswered goals with a Maddie Ackerman player-up marker just over one minute after Green's tally. Hamilton scored her second of the game on a free position to give Middlebury their first lead since it was 1-0 back in the opening three minutes.
It remained a one-goal Middlebury lead until Colin netted a timely goal with just 27 seconds left on the clock, making it 7-5 Panthers heading into the fourth.
Wesleyan continued to push in the fourth, forcing back-to-back Middlebury turnovers and getting a pair of good looks at cage that sailed wide of the target. Then it was Adams who spotted Middlebury an 8-5 lead with just over nine minutes left that made any comeback difficult on the Cardinals going up against the nation's best defense in the Panthers.
Despite the setback, the Cardinals worked the ball into the middle of the Middlebury defense, getting a pair of good looks for Dibble that both hit the crossbar. Cervini scored her second of the night with 4:29 remaining and Wesleyan got the ball back on a player-up with 3:41 remaining.
That player-up chance ended in a turnover and after the clock went under one minute to play, Diomede forced one last turnover on the ride with 40 seconds left. Caroline Messer was whistled for a delay of game green card, sending Wesleyan on the player-up, but there was too little time left as Dibble saw her shot saved by Savage in the closing seconds as the Panthers celebrated a sixth straight title.
Both teams finished even at 22-22 in shots and 19-19 in ground balls. Draw controls favored Middlebury 11-5 while Wesleyan went 24-for-25 on clears.
Weintraub finished with eight saves, capping an incredible career with another outstanding performance. Diomede totaled five caused turnovers and three ground balls while
Molly Simon '26 had three caused turnovers and two ground balls.
Kate Tracy '27 led the Cardinals with four ground balls.
Wesleyan's best season in program history comes to an end in what was the team's second-ever Final Four appearance and first-ever appearance in the National Championship game.
