MIDDLETOWN, Conn. –
Izzy Weintraub '26 and
Lindsey Diomede '26 of the Wesleyan women's lacrosse team were honored by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) on Tuesday with National Player of the Year honors. Weintraub is the 2026 D3 Goalkeeper of the Year while Diomede is the Midfielder of the Year. This signals the first time in program history a Cardinal has won a National Player of the Year award.
Voted the best goalkeeper in the nation, Weintraub closed out her career with the best single-season in her time at Wesleyan. Weintraub posted a 5.98 goals against average and .526 save percentage in 23 games (all starts) wherein she played over 1300 minutes in cage for the Cardinals. She posted a .500+ save percentage in all five NCAA Tournament games during the Cardinals' run to the National Championship game and sported a .576 save percentage in the NCAA Tournament.
She had four games this year with 10+ saves while she matched her career-high with 12 saves twice throughout the campaign including a 12-save effort against UChicago in the NCAA Third Round. Weintraub shined in the NCAA Semifinal with nine saves and four goals allowed in a 5-4 win over Salisbury. The three-time All-American graduates as the best goalkeeper in program history, having accumulated 449 saves with a 7.07 goals against average and .495 career save percentage to go along with 52 wins.
Diomede holds the title of best midfielder in the country this season as the senior put together a campaign that shattered the record books in terms of defensive prowess. Diomede more than doubled the program's previous single-season record for caused turnovers, as she totaled 84 on the year, breaking the previous team record of 38. She also set a single-season team record with her 67 ground balls from the 2026 season. Diomede added 54 draw controls and 14 points (eight goals, six assists) to earn the highest individual honor bestowed to a midfielder in the country.
Diomede caused at least one turnover in all 23 games this year while she had at least two caused turnovers in 20-of-23 games. The 2026 NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year shined against the best competition, totaling 23 caused turnovers over five NCAA Tournament games including five caused turnovers against Middlebury in the title game. She also had eight caused turnovers, six ground balls, and four draw controls in a regular season win over Williams on Senior Day.
