The men’s lacrosse team is riding high after a pair of NESCAC wins moved the team to 3-0 in conference play and 5-2 overall. With the wins, the Cardinals stayed on the heels of unbeaten Middlebury (5-0 NESCAC; 7-0 overall) and put some distance between themselves and the rest of the conference pack.

On Saturday Bowdoin (#19) came to town, looking to avenge a pair of 7-3 losses to Wesleyan in 2007. Bowdoin jumped out to a 4-1 lead with 9:19 remaining in the second period. Quint-captain Chris Jasinski ’08 scored 41 seconds later, igniting a 12-0 Wesleyan run that gave the Cardinals a 13-4 lead with 4:28 to go in the game. Wesleyan scored twice more in the half and scored the opening nine goals of the second half for the nine-goal bulge. Bowdoin added a goal with 1:48 remaining to cut the Cardinals’ margin to eight but would get no closer.

Attackman Russ Follansbee ’09, who tallied his 12th goal and added three assists in the game, noted that Jasinski’s goal marked a crucial turning point in the game.

“[Jasinski]’s goal was important for two reasons,” Follansbee said. “It really showed our [midfielders] that they could run by the short stick defense, and it also put the Bowdoin goalie on his heels. The Bowdoin goalie was hot in the first quarter, saving almost everything, but his confidence was taken away by that goal.”

Wesleyan won only eight of 20 face-offs on the afternoon but used a 44-27 shot advantage and stifling defense to keep the Polar Bears on ice. The Cardinals held their opponents scoreless for over 37 minutes during their 12-0 run, and Bowdoin failed on 10 of 23 clears. Keeper Mike Borrero ’09 stopped 11 shots for the Cardinals and was named NESCAC Player of the Week for his efforts.

On Wednesday, in-state rival Connecticut College traveled to Middletown looking to shut down Wesleyan’s high-powered offense. The Camels entered second in the NESCAC in goals-against average and held Middlebury to just three goals in an earlier 3-2 loss. The teams’ previous meeting was an 8-7, double-overtime Wesleyan win in New London; this year’s game proved not to be as much of a nail-biter.

The Camels jumped out to an early 3-1 lead, with the third goal coming with three seconds left in the first period. Wesleyan was later down 4-3 when Follansbee found the back of the net with four ticks left in the second for a 4-4 halftime score. Follansbee scored again just 33 seconds into the third, and the Cardinals added five more goals for a 10-4 lead. Conn. College scored once more for a 10-5 final.

Wesleyan beat its intrastate foes at their own game, using another outstanding defensive effort to keep the Camels at bay. The Cardinals held a 51-32 edge in ground balls and limited their opponents to just 19 shots, eight of which came in the final period. Borrero, whose 4.45 GAA leads Division III, made five saves toward the win. Wesleyan won 16 of the game’s 19 faceoffs, and Conn. College failed on 15 of 32 clears. The game was the fourth straight in which the Cardinals scored at least seven straight goals.

Next up for Wesleyan is the first leg of its quest for a fifth outright Little Three title in six years. The Cardinals will travel to Williams on Saturday in search of their fourth straight victory over the Ephs.

“Every game will be a battle from here on out,” attackman Jason Ben-Eliyahu ’09 said on Sunday. “You can’t look past any team in this league.”