The Wesleyan women’s lacrosse team continued its trend of ups and downs this past week with a victory over Roger Williams on March 24 followed by a loss at the hands of NESCAC opponent Bates on March 26. The Cardinals emphatically preserved their undefeated non-conference record, defeating the RWU Hawks 17-7 in a game that was theirs from the outset.

Kayla Ellman ’13 scored just 50 seconds into the game, and added another tally less than three minutes later to give Wes a multi-goal advantage that would never be challenged. The Cardinals went up 9-0 before ceding a goal, when Ellman had already secured a hat trick. Liz Chabot ’12 also netted a first-half hat trick, and Claire O’Brien ’12 and Hillary Cook ’14 slotted home two goals apiece in the first stanza, as the Cardinals took a 12-1 edge into halftime.

Wes coasted through the second half, with their lead fluctuating between nine and 12 goals without a serious challenge from the Hawks.  Highlighting the second half, O’Brien capped off her hat trick and Lydia Kring ’13 scored twice. Kring, typically a field player, had her second action in goal for the Cardinals as she allowed one goal and made four saves while minding the net in the first half. The second half goalie was Taylor Wells ’14, typically a midfielder for the Cardinals.

A winless NESCAC record has countered the Cardinals’ non-conference dominance thus far in the season. Unfortunately, that trend continued as the Cardinals could not hold on to an early lead against Bates, and fell 10-7 to the visiting Bobcats. Ellman continued her torrid goal-scoring run with another hat trick, and her two early goals, combined with tallies from O’Brien and Kaylin Berger ’13 gave Wes a 4-1 advantage in the opening stages of the match, scoring five of the game’s next six goals. Bates roared back, to earn a 6-5 halftime advantage. After Wes kept it close for the first 18 minutes of the second half, Bates quickly reeled off three straight scores to extend their lead to 10-6 with just over eight minutes remaining. Kring scored with 6:47 left to cut the lead to three, but the Cardinal rally ended there, as her free-position goal turned out to be the final one of the game. Maggie Drowica ’12 had a strong game in net with 14 saves, 10 coming in the second half.

The week’s results leave the Cardinals with a 4-3 record, 0-3 in NESCAC play. This upcoming week will again present the Cardinals with a non-conference opponent, as they will travel to Western Connecticut State on Tuesday, March 29. On Saturday, April 2, Wes will attempt to notch its first NESCAC victory in a home contest against Tufts.