MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The #2 seed Wesleyan women’s lacrosse team held #7 seeded Bowdoin scoreless for the first 28+ minutes of play, ultimately building a 7-1 lead before pulling away with a 5-0 run over the final 10+ minutes of play, to secure a 14-5 win over the Polar Bears in the NESCAC Quarterfinal round on Saturday afternoon from Smith Field. Wesleyan (14-2), winners of a team record nine straight games, advances to the NESCAC Semifinal for fourth straight season where they will take on #3 Tufts next Saturday at Middlebury.
A solid all-around display saw the Cardinals give Bowdoin fits in transition, as the Polar Bears went just 14-for-25 on clears while committing 10 more turnovers (24 total) than shot attempts (14) on the day. Olivia Lai ’23 wreaked havoc, totaling four caused turnovers to lead the team, while Lilly Stoller ’26 had three CT’s and Bridget Horst ’26 and Sam DeLeo ’25 both had two as Wesleyan totaled 17 as a team.
The Cardinal offense had trouble with turnovers themselves in the first quarter, committing seven as a team while having trouble solving Bowdoin’s goalkeeper Sophie Brett who made four straight saves from the opening whistle. It took nine shots and 14:57 of play before Wesleyan found the back of the net as Laura Baine ’24 netted her 40th of the season to make it 1-0 Cardinals at the end of the first quarter.
Wesleyan created some separation in the second quarter, as three more goals, including two off the stick of Dylan Green ’26, made it 4-0 Wesleyan. Bowdoin went into halftime with some momentum as Anna Kelly broke the scoreless run for the Polar Bears with 1:26 left in the half, as it was 4-1 Wesleyan at the break.
Coming out of halftime, it was Wesleyan who hit the front foot, finding some footing on offense with three goals in a span of just 1:57. Molly Greer ’24 scored her first of the day and then assisted on Elle Priesing’s ’26 second tally of the game. Baine then finished off the 3-0 run off a Becca Dibble ’26 assist as Wesleyan took their largest lead of the game at 7-1.
Bowdoin responded with two quick goals, making it a 7-3 game, and after the two sides traded goals it was 8-4 Cardinals heading into the fourth.
That four-goal margin, however, was as close as Bowdoin would get as the Cardinals finished the game off with five unanswered goals in the final 10:23 of play, running away with the nine-goal win. Greer started the game-clinching run with a goal, followed by Kiara Tangney ’25 in a free position, before Greer took a feed from DeLeo and scored to give her a hat trick.
Baine’s third goal made it 13-5 Cardinals and Dibble netted her second of the day to cap the scoring and seal the 14-5 Wesleyan win.
The five goals allowed is the fewest Wesleyan has ever allowed in a NESCAC Tournament game, with the previous low mark being last season’s 11-6 Quarterfinal win over Williams at home.
Wesleyan outshot Bowdoin 32-14 for the game and 18-5 in the first half alone. Wesleyan dominated the ground balls (32-21) and were +4 on draw controls (13-9) while going 4-for-8 on free position shots, compared to a 0-for-1 showing for the Polar Bears.
Baine led the attack with three goals and three assists to go along with a career-high five ground balls. The six points for Baine is a career-high playoff. Dibble tied her season and career-high with four points (two goals, two assists) while Greer netted a hat trick with one assists for a four-point game.
Priesing finished with her second career three-point game, and first of this season, with two goals and one assist. Green scored twice and led the Cardinals with four draw controls.
Three Cardinals – DeLeo (six), Baine (five), Dibble (four) – established new career-high ground balls totals. Haley McLaughlin ’24 also totaled four ground balls, which is a season-high for the defender.
Izzy Weintraub ’26 saw just nine shots on-goal for the contest and made four saves while playing all 60 minutes in the cage.
The win sets up a big clash next Saturday in the NESCAC Semifinal as the Cardinals will play Tufts at top-seeded Middlebury. The two met in an instant classic back on April 6 as the Jumbos led 15-11 heading into the fourth quarter before the Cardinals staged an epic 6-0 fourth quarter rally to hand Tufts a 17-15 defeat.
