Wesleyan Moves Past Rival Trinity in Men's Lacrosse First Round
Courtesy Wesleyan Sports Information
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - Defeating seventh-seeded Trinity (6-9) for the second time this season and for the 11th time in a row since 2000, second-seeded Wesleyan (10-4) advanced to the semifinals of the NESCAC Men's Lacrosse Championship for the sixth consecutive season behind a 11-5 victory at home today. Wesleyan will meet fourth-seeded Bowdoin in the second semifinal contest at Middlebury College Saturday, May 3 at 3:00 p.m., while top-seeded and host Middlebury takes on sixth-seeded Williams at 12:00 p.m.
Wesleyan got off the mark early against Trinity, which it had beaten on the road, 7-5, April 16 in a regular-season contest. Leading scorer senior Grayson Connors scored two goals for Wesleyan in the opening 8:02 of the game, and added a third at 11:31 of the second quarter as Wesleyan held a 3-1 edge. The Bantams opening goal came from senior Kris Tedeschi. Trinity stayed with its host and trailed 4-3 at halftime behind goals from freshman Brendan Newland and junior Rob Mountain while Connors assisted on a goal by junior Dan Latzman for Wesleyan.
Wesleyan then took control by scoring the next eight goals for a resounding 11-3 lead late in the contest. Connors finished the game with four goals and an assist as he has 39 goals and nine assists to pace the Cardinals with 48 points. Junior Russ Folansbee enjoyed a six-point game for Wesleyan with two tallies and four helpers, upping his seasonal point total to 46. Four of his points came during the 8-0 run. Trinity got two late goals from freshman Greg Brennan for the 11-5 final.
Wesleyan junior goalie Mike Borrero had a stellar effort in making 14 saves while yielding only three goals before giving way to sophomore Colin Campbell for the last three minutes. Campbell gave up the final two markers, one of them a man-advantage as two of Trinity's five goals were man-up. Trinity netminder junior Alex Palma collected nine saves for his squad.
The last Trinity victory over Wesleyan came during the regular-season in 2000. Wesleyan defeated Trinity in an ECAC playoff game that year and has won each regular-season meeting as well as two first-round NESCAC tournament games since.
