Middletown, CT --- Three different Wesleyan field hockey players tallied second half goals as the nationally-ranked Cardinals opened their 2025 campaign by knocking off previously undefeated WPI 3-0 in a non-conference match-up played Wednesday evening in Middletown, Connecticut.
 
Wesleyan, which reached the second round of last season's NCAA Division III Championships, is ranked 13th in the preseason National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Top 25, is 1-0 on the season while the Engineers, who defeated Roger Williams and University of New England to start the season this past week, dip to 2-1 overall.
 
WPI netminder Myles Lakin (Reading, MA) was the story of a scoreless first half as the sophomore continued an impressive start of the season.  Lakin who was named NEWMAC Defensive Player of the Week yesterday, before being announced as the NFHCA National Defensive Player of the Week earlier Wednesday, recorded 15 first half saves as the hosts outshot the Crimson and Gray 18-2 and held a 10-1 edge in penalty corners over the first 30 minutes.
 
The Cardinals finally broke through in early in the third quarter when Leila Feldman (La Jolla, CA) buried a feed from Meera Patel (Hamilton East/New Zealand) at 33:34.   Wesleyan continued to lead by a goal until the final stanza when Teddy Tolbert (Ypsilanti, MI) netted an unassisted marker at 48:14 and then assisted on Georgia Adams' (Andover, MA) tally at the 53:00 mark.
 
Lakin, continued to shine in the second half, directly repelling six of Wesleyan's 12 shots over the final two periods en route to finishing with a career-best 21 saves. 
 
Madeline Chase (Danvers, MA) and Lauren Meinhold (Boxboro, MA) and Chloe Luongo (Amherst, NH) logged WPI's three shots on the night with Chase and Meinhold's bids on target.  Audrey Pace (Los Gatos, CA) worked the first 53:48 in the cage for the Cardinals, notching a pair of stops while Keira O'Flynn (West Chester, PA) was not called upon to make a save over the final 6:12.
 
WPI heads back to Worcester for its home opener on Saturday, hosting Western New England at noon.  Wesleyan is in action at the same time on Saturday, entertaining Vassar.