MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Colby College men's lacrosse team led in the first half and only trailed 6-4 at halftime against eighth-ranked Wesleyan University, but the Cardinals pulled away in the second half for a 21-8 NESCAC victory Saturday.

The Mules are 4-4 overall and fall to 1-4 in the conference. Wesleyan, the defending NCAA champions, move to 7-1 overall and 3-1 in the league. 

Game highlights

*  The Mules scored the first goal of the game at the 11:50 mark on a score from Charlie Lynch.

* With 1:56 remaining, Colton Michel dished it off to Jack Rickards to even the score at 2-2 after one.

* Colby's Lane Kadish put Colby on top in the opening seconds of the second quarter, but a 3-0 Wesleyan run gave the home team some momentum. 

* Riley Bergstrom cut the deficit to one with 2:53 in the half. However, a goal by Owen Shin in the closing seconds put the Cardinals on top 6-4 at the break.

* Wesleyan had a 9-0 scoring advantage in the third quarter to take control. 

* Trailing 15-4 entering the fourth quarter, Colby came out strong and scored three-straight goals within the first 2:38 to get within eight. 

By the numbers

* Will Dodge had his first collegiate goal, scooped three ground balls,  and had two caused turnovers for Colby. He has 29 ground balls to lead Colby. 

* Kadish had a pair of goals, while Bergstrom, Noah Froio (pictured), Lynch, and Michel all had one goal and one assist. Jack Rickards had the other score and Bret Miller dished an assist.

* Finn McNamara had five ground balls for the Mules. Henry Nelson and Nick Percarpio each had two caused turnovers. Joe Paolatto was 7-for-13 on face-offs and had four ground balls.

Up next

* The Mules stay on the road for a game with Middlebury next Saturday at 1 p.m.

Box

http://www.gocolbymules.com/ sports/mlax/2018-19/boxscores/ 20190330_r3w5.xml