The 14th-ranked women’s lacrosse team (10-5, 6-4 NESCAC) displayed dominant offensive play against the Hamilton Continentals (5-10, 3-7 NESCAC) this past Saturday at Smith Field. The game coincided with Senior Day, a day devoted to departing seniors Sara Bennett, Julia Black, and Dana Mitchell. Posters dedicated to the class of 2018 decorated the fences while Wesleyan’s home crowd applauded the seniors playing their final game on home turf. 

The Cardinals jumped out to an early 4-0 lead within the first six minutes of play and never looked back. Abby Manning ’20 scored just two minutes and 57 seconds into the game, followed by a goal from Johanna Copeland ’21 at the 26:30 mark. Fewer than two minutes later, Caitlin Wood ’19 and Manning scored back-to-back goals within 30 seconds of each other.

The Continentals attempted to claw their way back, as they scored a minute later and went on to cut the deficit to two. This two-goal trail would be the closest they’d get to the Red and Black for the entire game.

The Cardinals proved relentless and fought back, scoring three unanswered goals in four minutes. Wood scored off a free position shot with 16:10 to play in the half, giving the home team a 7-2 advantage. Although Hamilton scored three of the next four goals to cut the Dirty Birds’ lead to three, Manning again gave the home team breathing room by finding the back of the net just in time for a Cardinal four-goal halftime lead.

Manning’s momentum continued into the second half, as it took her just 50 seconds to score yet another goal. This catapulted into a 4-1 run, giving the Dirty Birds a 13-6 lead on the Continentals. With 21:29 to play in the half, the Cardinals seemed dominant, and after some back-to-back goals from Hamilton, Wesleyan regained their lead with two more goals from Manning, as she put the game away with 6:52 on the clock. The final scoreboard sported a Cardinal demolition, 15-9.

Six different Cardinals scored on Saturday, with Manning taking a game-high six goals and Wood adding in another four. Julia Gretsky ’20 scored twice and dished out an assist, and Sydney Prokupek ’21 tallied a game-high three assists. The high-scoring Cardinals dominated Hamilton on shots 25-23 and took control of more ground balls, beating them out 19-11. Although the balanced offense worked well for the Dirty Birds, the women played outstanding defense that stifled the offense of the Continentals. Breanna Cavanaugh ’19 and Caroline Sgaglione ’19 both caused two turnovers while Allegra Grant ’20 went 8-of-16 on saves. Abigail Horst ’19 had won six draw controls and Cavanaugh led all players with five ground balls.

After a successful game, the seniors felt bittersweet about their upcoming graduation. 

“I honestly tried not to think about it being my last time on Smith Field, and instead exited the locker room and entered the field with such passion to make sure that everyone could see how much I have given to this team and program,” Bennett said. “It’s hard to pinpoint just one thing I’ll miss. These are my last few weeks of being a varsity athlete, and I can’t imagine what it’ll be like to never play a college sport again. But more importantly than leaving the sport behind is the idea of leaving these girls, my teammates, my friends. The team culture changes every year; you admire the upperclassmen and lead the newcomers, but everyone is family and it’s never easy saying goodbye to family.”

Bennet also detailed the life lessons she’ll take from the challenges of being a student-athlete.

“The life of a Wesleyan student-athlete is a full-time job,” she said. “Not only are the days long—6 a.m. speed and agility, team breakfast, class, film during the common hour, class, technical extra sessions, practice, team lift, TA session, homework, bed—but the self-discipline required is extremely applicable to the real world. Time management, relentless work ethic, leadership, and teamwork were constant factors throughout my four years at Wesleyan while being a member of this team. Those of us who have chosen to play a DIII sport here have learned what it means to push yourself to the limit both academically and athletically, and that is something that will never go unnoticed in any future endeavor.”

Head Coach Kim Williams, who stepped into the role when these seniors were sophomores, will definitely miss the seniors for their tremendous effort and hard work they’ve put in the program.

“They embraced the team culture and standards that I set for the team” Williams said. “They were ready to work from the very beginning and take the steps necessary to take this program to the next level. I will miss them first and foremost as people. I will miss their commitment and passion to this team and program both on and off the field. They are such a selfless group that has done so much for the team, always putting the team first.”

Williams also offered the graduating members some guidance about the future beyond Wesleyan.

“The advice I’d give them for the real world would be to take the lessons that they’ve learned as athletes, to embrace challenges and obstacles along the way remembering all that they’ve overcome during their time at Wesleyan on and off the field, to always have confidence in themselves and to continue to strive to give 100% in everything that they do in life,” she said. 

After senior day, the successes continued as Wesleyan defeated Conn College 14-11 on Wednesday, April 25. The victory was led by Wood and Horst, who scored five and four goals, respectively. With the win, the Cardinals secured the 5th seed in the NESCAC playoffs, and will travel to Maine to face the Bowdoin Polar Bears at 12 p.m. on Saturday. Wesleyan will seek to avenge their close, 11-3 loss to the Polar Bears earlier this season.

Kevin Le can be reached at ktle@wesleyan.edu. Owen Sullivan can be reached at osullivan@wesleyan.edu.