MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The three-seed Wesleyan women's lacrosse team strung together some late goals in hopes of a comeback, but the top-seed Middlebury closed out the Cardinals in a 7-5 win that secured the Panthers the 2026 NESCAC Championship. Wesleyan (15-3) is the NESCAC Runner-Up for the third straight season and for the fourth time in the past six years.
Much like the regular season showdown between these two sides that finished in a 5-4 Middlebury win, the two defenses dominated play for a majority of the contest. Just 34 combined shots were attempted while Middlebury made the most of their free position shots, going 3-for-6 as a team while the Cardinals went 0-for-3. In addition, the Panthers held a sizeable 11-3 edge in draw controls, as those two stats loomed large in Sunday's outcome.
Less than 24 hours removed from the most thrilling of comeback wins that saw Wesleyan prevail over Tufts in the Semifinal round, the Cardinals played steady all throughout the first quarter, as Middlebury's Caroline Adams scored the lone goal in the period on a free position. Wesleyan outshot the Panthers 6-4 in the first but saw three shots on-target all turned aside by Middlebury goalie Elizabeth Savage.
Caroline Cervini '27 shrugged off her defender after receiving a pass from
Bridget Horst '26 and spun to take a shot that hit the back of the net for the first Wesleyan goal just 42 seconds into the second quarter. Middlebury, however, dominated the remainder of the frame as the Cardinals turned the ball over six times and had just one shot attempt over the remaining 14+ minutes of the period while the Panthers scored three times to open a 4-1 halftime lead.
Sophia Lee scored early in the third quarter to make it 5-1 Panthers to complete a streak of four unanswered goals for Middlebury. Wesleyan was able to break a near 30-minute goalless draught late in the third as
Addie Cummings '26 fought off a double team, whipping a pass towards
Elle Priesing '26 who did well to receive the ball and score to make it 5-2 Middlebury heading into the fourth.
Cummings had a chance to make it a two-goal game early in the fourth on a free position but her low shot attempt was met by Savage's stick and Adams followed with her third goal of the game to restore a four-goal advantage with 8:21 to play.
The Cardinals did not go away quietly, as
Mya Waryas '27 dodged her way to a goal with 5:17 left then Horst buried one with the Cardinals on a two-player up advantage to make it 6-4 Middlebury with 3:58 remaining.
A crucial draw control went the way of Middlebury following the Horst goal and after working the clock for over a minute, Maggie Spehr buried a key insurance goal for Middlebury.
Izzy Weintraub '26 made a save on Spehr with 1:34 left with the Cardinals playing down a player, then Cervini scored her second of the game to make it 7-5 Panthers with 48 seconds left.
Needing the draw to extend the game, Adams came up big for Middlebury with a draw control win and after a Panther timeout, Middlebury closed out the game to win the title.
Cervini's two goals led the Cardinals while Horst and Priesing each had one goal and one assist.
Lindsey Diomede '26 led the Cardinal defense with six caused turnovers and four ground balls while
Lilly Stoller '26 had two caused turnovers. Weintraub made four saves in goal.
Adams dominated for the Panthers, scoring three times and adding two assists to go along with eight draw controls as she had a hand, either scoring or assisting on five of Middlebury's seven goals scored. Savage finished with six saves and three ground balls.
Wesleyan awaits news of an NCAA Tournament berth on Monday with the Selection Show slated for Monday morning on NCAA.com.
