Throughout the first quarter of the Cardinal men’s lacrosse team’s game at Trinity on Wednesday, it looked as though Wesleyan was suffering through a bit of a hangover from their tough loss to Tufts the previous Saturday. In temperatures as high as 90 degrees, the Bantams routinely wove through the Cardinal defense, taking four shots on Wesleyan’s cage in the first, compared with only two shots on goal for the Cards. However, goalkeeper Mark Simmons ’13 kept the Cardinal defense afloat, stopping all four shots in the first and continuing his stellar play into the second. Simmons made nine first-half saves, which allowed the Cardinal attackers to start slow and still provide the team with a chance to win.

Teddy Citrin ’12 finally got the Cardinals on the board, making one of their two first-period shots on goal count as he tallied the first score of the game with 6:33 remaining in the quarter. The rest of Wesleyan’s attack finally got it going as the second period started, with Lonny Blumenthal ’10 scoring the first and third goals of the period and Jon Killeen ’10, Adam Michael ’11, and Conor Malangone ’11 each adding one before halftime as well. With Simmons continuing his strong play in goal and carrying the shutout, the Cardinals walked off the field at halftime up 6-0 on the Bantams.

Though Trinity opened the second half with a quick goal, no comeback would materialize, as the Cardinals never let the Bantams closer than five goals. John Froats ’12 added a goal in each of the third and fourth quarters, and the Bantams also scored two more in the second half to provide the final 8-3 margin. Simmons maintained his outstanding performance in the second half, making eight more saves and finishing the game with a stellar .850 save percentage. That raised his seasonal save percentage to a respectable .663 over 225 minutes of game action. The Cardinals also had a distinct advantage on faceoffs, with specialist Matt Ward ’10 winning an outstanding 10 of his 11 faceoff attempts in the contest.

The win was the 13th in a row over Trinity for Wesleyan, which has not lost to the Bantams since April 19, 2000 in Hartford, 9-8. The Cardinals also improved their record to 6-4 and 2-3 in the NESCAC, good enough for a tie for fourth place in the conference standings.

Another crucial conference road game awaits the Cardinals on Saturday, as they travel to Colby to take on the White Mules, who are among the three teams tied with Wesleyan in the conference standings.