Entering Saturday’s game against Amherst, the Cardinal men’s lacrosse team was an underwhelming 2-5 in NESCAC play and badly needed a victory to earn an invitation to the postseason conference tournament it won last year. No one understood the importance of the game more than the team’s seniors, who had never lost more than three NESCAC games in a season before this one and only missed the NCAA tournament once, in 2008. This season has been difficult for a team used to much greater success, and Lonny Blumenthal ‘13 finally took his frustration out on the Amherst Lord Jeffs. One of five senior captains, Blumenthal had his best game as a Cardinal in one of his last, scoring a career-high seven goals in a convincing 16-8 Wesleyan victory.

The Cardinals unleashed five goals on the Lord Jeffs in the first 10 minutes of the game and never looked back. D.J. Bernatavitz ’12 complemented Blumenthal’s career day with a personal best of his own, netting his first hat trick. Two of his goals came in the Cardinals’ first three as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead. The Lord Jeffs tried to answer the onslaught, scoring two straight goals of their own, but Wesleyan closed out the first quarter with another goal to take a 6-2 lead into the second period. In the second, Blumenthal scored his second and third goals of the game, while Adam Michael ’11 scored his second and the Lord Jeffs could only muster one score.

Despite the 9-3 halftime lead, the Cardinals knew the game was far from over. They put their foot on Lord Jeffrey’s throat in the second half, scoring four more goals in the third period while only allowing two. The fourth quarter began with a 13-5 lead for the Cardinals, but Amherst had one run left in them. The Lord Jeffs scored three straight goals in the first five minutes of the fourth, but it was too little, too late. At 13-8, Wesleyan still had a substantial lead, and after Amherst’s eighth goal, they extended it even further. The Cardinals scored three straight to end the contest, thanks in part to Blumenthal, who found the net for the sixth and seventh time in the contest. In the end, the Cardinals outlasted the Lord Jeffs to win 16-8.

Blumenthal’s seven goals almost doubled his season total, which had been nine over the previous 12 games. His previous career high was four goals against Williams in 2009. After Blumenthal finished off the opening 5-0 run with his first goal, he scored six of the next 11 Cardinal goals. The last Cardinal to climb the seven-goal mountain was Grayson Connors ’08, in the 2008 regular-season finale at Bates, and Blumenthal was just one goal away from tying the school record for most goals in a game (8), set by Bruce McKenna ’84 in 1984 against the University of New Haven.

Wesleyan men’s lacrosse has not lost to Amherst in over 10 years, a 13-game winning streak that stretches back to April 17, 1999. Although the most recent contest was a blowout, the matchup has actually been fairly even, with nine of the previous 12 meetings decided by two goals or fewer, with four of those going to overtime. This eight-goal margin of victory was the biggest for the Cardinals over the Lord Jeffs since a 17-7 win in 1991. In addition, the victory forced a three-way tie for the 2010 Little Three title.

Most importantly, the win clinched a berth in the NESCAC tournament for the defending champion Cardinals. They are guaranteed at least the eighth seed at this point, although the game against Connecticut College this Friday will be crucial to the tournament seeding. Because Conn. College is currently in first place, a Cardinal loss would lock Wesleyan into the eighth spot and ensure a rematch with the first-place Camels in New London in the opening round on Sunday, May 2. But a Wesleyan win this Friday could knock Conn. College from first, move the Cardinals as high as sixth, and throw the crowded conference standings into a plethora of tiebreaker scenarios. Thus, Friday’s game will prove crucial to Wesleyan’s hope of winning the NESCAC tournament, perhaps their only chance to return to the NCAA tournament and attempt to improve on last year’s quarterfinal finish.