The women’s varsity lacrosse team was busy over spring break, playing seven games over the course of 17 days. At home, Wes went 2-2 with big wins over Williams and Eastern Connecticut State, while they dropped matches to Babson and Hamilton (in overtime). Away from home, they fared slightly worse, beating out non-NESCAC opponent Manhattanville College, but losing to NESCAC rivals Bates and Middlebury. As it now stands, the team heads into the grinding part of its schedule with a decent 3-4 record overall and a less desirable 1-3 NESCAC record. The Cardinals will need to save some quality play for the heart of their fast-approaching NESCAC schedule. If the team can win about three of its five remaining conference games, it should be able to secure a coveted playoff position.
Wes opened the season on a high note against Little Three rival Williams and managed to knock off the Lady Ephs with a 13-8 victory. The win gives Wesleyan a chance at its first Little Three championship in years, providing they beat the 4-1 Amherst Lord Jeffs. Wesleyan was led by impressive performances by juniors Kaylin Berger and Kayla Ellman. Berger nearly singlehandedly outscored Williams, as she recorded six goals on six of eight shooting. Ellman added an extra three for good measure, and also chipped in an assist to further the Cardinal cause. Freshman Leah Sherman also made a name for herself in her debut college match by adding two more goals and an assist to help Wesleyan cement the victory over its bitter rivals. The Cardinals lost a tight overtime game to Hamilton, but quickly responded as they took their very next game in easy fashion against Eastern Connecticut, cruising to a 16-7 victory. A host of different Cardinals contributed scores in the lopsided affair, with Lydia Kring ’13 and Ellman doing most of the damage with three goals apiece. The Cards also benefitted from the contribution of sophomore Maddy Coulter’s two goals and an assist. The freshmen also got in on the action, as Sherman and Audrey Le each added two goals along with an assist for Le. The other Cardinals to score included Liz Chabot ’12, Claire O’Brien ’12, Catherine Taibi ’13, and Maddy Chabot ’15. Anna Michalowski ’15 and Cayla Liptak ’14 each added an assist.
After losing to NESCAC opponent Bates, Wesleyan beat up on Manhattanville in an extremely lopsided affair that saw Wes put up its highest number of goals in the year (19). The 19-10 win was particularly impressive because of how early Wes sped out of the gate. By halftime the game was a foregone conclusion, as Wes had already outscored Manhattanville 14-4. That was all the points Wes would need, but they added five more anyway before all was said and done. Coulter led the team with a career-high five points on two goals and three assists, but Taibi paced the scoring effort as she recorded a season-high four goals. Sophomore Michele Drossner added three points with a goal and two assists, while Le continued her roll by netting four points (two goals, two assists).
One notable accomplishment over the break was Berger’s selection as NESCAC women’s lacrosse player of the week for the first week of games in March. On March 12, Berger received the accolade largely behind the strength of her career-high six goals in the win over Williams and her four goals in the losing effort against Hamilton in overtime. This issue appeared too late to comment on the Thursday game against Western Connecticut State, but look for that article in the next issue of The Argus, and make sure to go support the Wes women at 7:00 p.m. next Wednesday at Little Three rival Amherst and see if they can match the men’s team and take the Little Three championship with a win over the Lord Jeffs.