MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The No. 12 ranked Wesleyan men's lacrosse team will play host to NCAA Tournament Second and Third Round games this weekend on Citrin Field. The Cardinals (11-4) open on Saturday at Noon against Ohio Northern before St. John Fisher plays Williams in a neutral site Second Round contest at 3 PM on Saturday. The two winning teams will face off in the Third Round (Sweet 16) on Sunday at 3 PM.
 
Tickets can be bought with cash or card and are priced at $6 for adults, $4 for seniors/students, $3 for children ages 4-12, and all kids ages 3 and under are free. Ticket sales begin one hour before the start of each game. There are no online ticket sales. Fans who purchase tickets on Saturday are welcome to watch both games for no additional charge.
 
This marks the 11^th NCAA Tournament appearance for Wesleyan who won the school's first-ever team National Championship in 2018. The 2025 NESCAC runner-up went 11-3 in the regular season and spent much of the season ranked inside the Top 10 nationally. The Cardinals finished the season ranked No. 5 in the NCAA's National Power Index (NPI), earning Wesleyan hosting rights for the opening weekend of the NCAA TOuranemtn.
 
Wesleyan features the fourth-best scoring offense in the NESCAC at 12.93 goals per game while the Cardinals sit third-best in the conference with 10.15 goals against average for the year. Four Cardinals made the All-NESCAC Second Team including senior attackman Ben Burns '26 who is just the third Wesleyan attackman in program history to earn three career All-NESCAC honors. Midfielders James Bailey '26 and Will Miller '26 also made All-NESCAC Second Team along with short stick defensive midfielder Charlie Wilmot '26. Eight Cardinals have double-digit goal totals this year while four Cardinals have 25+ goals on the season. Joe Hurton '27 spearheads the defense with team-leading totals in ground balls (40) and caused turnovers (27). Conor Selfridge '26 is in his third year as the starting goalkeeper and he sports a 9.64 goals against average with 122 saves and a .496 save percentage. Jackson Tinari '26 leads the faceoff unit with a 49.7 percent win rate while Jack Doherty '28 is winning at a 48.9 percent clip this year.
 
Ohio Northern (14-6) are making their second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. ONU defeated Concordia Wisconson 16-4 on the road in the NCAA First Round on Wednesday night to earn a spot in the Second Round. The Polar Bears earned the Ohio Athletic Conference's automatic bid with a 15-7 win at Baldwin Wallace. ONU saw eight players named All-OAC including OAC Offensive Player of the Year Jack Chaney while seven made the All-OAC First Team. Chaney leasd the ONU offense with 57 points on 26 goals and a team-high 31 assists. Alex Bergeron is a two-time First Team All-OAC selection, ranking first on the team with 22 caused turnovers to go along with 38 ground balls. Peyton Lich is having a tremendous sophomore season in cage, sporting a 7.72 goals against average with a .557 save percentage while starting 19 games. Freshman midfielder Aidan Sexton leads the team with 30 goals while five players have 20+ goals on the year.
 
St. John Fisher (17-2) is back in the NCAA Tournament, having won the Empire 8 Championship for the seventh straight season. The Cardinals have won at least one game in five of their last six trips to the NCAA Tournament, having advanced to the Elite 8 in 2024. Twelve Cardinals were named All-E8 including Goalkeeper of the Year Tyler Manning and Rookie of the Year Jonah Vormwald. Manning, an All-American last season and 2026 Empire 8 Tournament MVP, has been one of the top goalkeepers in the nation, ranking eighth in the country with an 8.03 goals against average and 15^th-best with a .601 save percentage. Vormwald has been dominant all year at X, winning 239-of-327 faceoffs for a .734 win percentage, currently seventh-best in the nation. Ten Cardinals have 10+ goals this year while 14 players on the team have 10+ points. Lane Edinger leads the way with 64 points (43 goals, 21 assists) while Scott Bovard (41 goals, 20 assists) and Sean Donaldson (43 goals, 14 assists) both have 40+ goals and Grady Swidersky (18 goals, 37 assists) leads the team in assists. Bryce Riffel (135-for-193, .699 win percentage) mixes in with Vormwald on faceoffs to give Fisher a dynamic 1-2 punch at X. Ethan Hodge leads the defense with 29 caused turnovers and 41 ground balls.
 
Williams (7-9) earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year and third time in the last four seasons. The Ephs have two signature road wins this year, having defeated then-No. 5 ranked Salisbury 14-10 back on March 24 while also defeating then-No. 15 ranked Middlebury 8-7 on April 22 to secure a NESCAC Tournament berth. Will Doran, Ryan Johnson, and Aidan Housenbold were all named to the All-NESCAC Second Team. Doran leads the team in goals (41), assists (18), and points (59) while Johnson has 23 goals and nine assists as a midfielder and Housenbold leads the team with 29 caused turnovers to go along with 62 ground balls. Charlie Medd has been the starter all year at goalkeeper, sporting a .533 save percentage and 12.12 goals against average. Ian Kim is the primary faceoff specialist, winning 159-of-305 opportunities this year with 78 ground balls.