#21 Women's Lacrosse Ends 2026 Season in Sweet Sixteen

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. -– The 21st-ranked University of Chicago women's lacrosse team ended its 2026 season in the third round of the NCAA DIII Women's Lacrosse Tournament. After putting up a tough fight in Connecticut, the Maroons fell to the 2nd-ranked Wesleyan University, 14-7, on Saturday afternoon.

The Cardinals struck first, putting up four unanswered goals in the first quarter of the game. UChicago struggled to find its offense early but found a much-needed offensive push in the second 15 minutes.

As the second quarter began, Wesleyan found the back of the net to make it a 5-0 game three minutes in. Just before the Cardinals scored again,

Wynne Boggan capitalized on a free position shot after Wesleyan's Kurtis was called for a foul, cutting the deficit to four for the UChicago.

The Cardinals quickly responded, but the Maroons refused to quit, closing out the first half with another goal in the final 48 seconds of the second quarter. Finding an open man in the middle,

Nicoletta Tsiamis found

Peyton McGuire on the drive for UChicago's second goal of the day. Heading into halftime, Wesleyan led 8-2.

Trying to stop another scoring run from the Cardinals, the Maroons added two more goals on the scoreboard in the third quarter. Responding to an early quarter opening goal from the opponents,

Grace Hopkins and

Avery Song capitalized on a man-up situation as Hopkins netted a goal off an assist by Song. Later on in the quarter, McGuire took advantage of another free position attempt for the Maroons to make it 12-4 and cut the lead to eight.

The Cardinals went up by ten to start the fourth, but UChicago remained persistent in putting up a fight. Off an assist by Boggan and a free position shot, McGuire scored back-to-back goals to put six points on the board for the Maroons. Four minutes and tough defense later, the Maroons found another opportunity to score as

Emily Sensenich drove all the way down from the Cardinals' side of the field to score her second goal of the season and the final goal of the game.

McGuire led the offense for the Maroons with four goals and four points on 10 shots. Sensenich, Hopkins, and Boggan all finished with one goal apiece, as Boggan also recorded an assist in the game. In goal,

Lily Brill tallied nine saves on 14 goal attempts.

The Maroons end a fantastic season with an 11-6 overall record and a second consecutive trip to the Sweet Sixteen.