The Cardinal women’s lacrosse team pulled out a huge win in its final regular-season game, a 13-12 defeat of Connecticut College on Friday, April 24, that allowed it to secure a spot as the seventh seed in the NESCAC tournament. This set them up for their second match of the season against second seed Colby, which beat Wesleyan earlier in the year 17-12. The Mules again proved to have the Cardinals’ number, taking the quarterfinal contest by a 21-15 score.

Against Conn. College, the Cardinals never trailed and led by an 8-5 score at halftime. The outcome looked certain when Wes led by four in the second half, but the Camels scored four goals in a row to even the score at 10. At that point, Claire Hunter ’11 ended the run, scoring off a pass from Allie Lynch ’11 with 9:23 left to take the lead for good. Erin McCarthy ’10 then scored her fourth goal of the game, Sarah Orkin ’09 also added a goal, and although Conn. scored two more late in the half, the damage was done. The Cardinals held on, 13-12, to secure their tournament berth and set up a rematch against powerhouse Colby, ranked third nationally in Division III.

“Our game against Conn. was a big win for us,” Hunter said. “It was an essential victory for our entrance into the NESCAC tournament.”

With a loss to the Camels, Wesleyan would have missed the NESCAC tournament for the first time since 2002. 

Despite Colby’s advantages on paper, the Cardinals were confident going into their first-round tournament game on Sunday. However, Colby got out to a fast start, building up a lead that stretched to as many as eight goals in the second half. Wes fought back valiantly, getting as close as 18-15 with 6:23 remaining on Jess Chukwu’s ’11 career-high sixth tally. But the Mules were too powerful, scoring the final three goals to provide the final margin of 21-15. Maggie Lile ’11 was the Cardinals’ second-leading scorer, with three goals, and McCarthy and Orkin each added two tucks as well.

“Colby is a talented team, but it is also a team we felt confident we could beat,” Hunter said. “We dug a hole for ourselves in the first half and entered halftime down 12-5, but we came back in the second half, sparked by aggressive play and key draw controls.”

With the loss, the Cardinals finished the season with a 6-9 record. McCarthy wound up as the team’s scoring leader, tallying 34 points with 28 goals and six assists. Lynch was the team’s assist leader, dishing out 20 dimes to go along with nine goals of her own. Lile scored 25 goals this season, putting her second in that category, and Charlotte Hastings ’10 tied with Chukwu for third with 24 each. Orkin finished this season with 27 points, putting her at 113 over her four-year career, which places her fifth on the all-time Wesleyan scoring list.

Notable achievements by this year’s team include a 12-5 beat-down of longtime nemesis Amherst, the Cardinals’ first defeat over the Lord Jeffs since 1994, and a share of the Little Three for the first time in over a quarter-century.

The outlook for next year is good, despite the loss of the team’s six graduating seniors. Goalkeepers Abby Sedney ’10, who played the first half in goal against Connecticut, and Maggie Drowica ’12, who played the second half, form a great one-two punch. They combined for 20 saves in the game while allowing only 12 goals against a high-powered Camel offense.

“Abby and Maggie have been playing incredibly well, and their strong presence on the field will continue to make a large defensive impact next year,” Hunter said. 

“Our seniors have been an essential component to our team through their strong leadership and consistent play,” she continued, “and we are going to miss them on and off the field. We will need to rebuild in the off-season, but on a positive note, we are keeping a foundation of underclassmen for next year, especially on our attacking end.”