Courtesy of Brian Beard

The men’s lacrosse team (7–0; 4–0 NESCAC) is firing on all cylinders to start its 2026 campaign, hoping to make it back to the NCAA semifinals for the third year in a row. The team is ranked second in the country going into this weekend’s game following a 17–12 win versus Wesleyan University (5–2; 1–2 NESCAC) last Saturday.

Head Coach Bill Mason commented on the strength of this year’s graduating class following the departure of a pivotal class of 2025.

“I think there’s a lot of pressure on a senior group when the last two groups have gone to the semifinals,” Mason said. “Seeing these guys handle that pressure, keep the standard where it is, but also doing their part to raise it a little bit and add their own spin on it has been really fun.”

Following a tight 12–9 win over Middlebury College (5–2; 3–1 NESCAC) to start the season, the Polar Bears have scored 16 or more goals per game, including a crushing 17–5 win over Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (5–4). Despite the runaway final score, Mason mentioned how the team worked on its offensive firepower against MIT ahead of another NESCAC matchup.

“I think in our MIT game, we could have been a little bit more explosive out of the gates.… I don’t think our guys got up for them as much as they got up for us,” Mason said. “And we learned from that. We turned it around [versus] Wesleyan and had our best first half.”

Casey Ryan ’27 scored his first of three goals a few minutes into the game, assisted by Chris Berry ’27. Berry noted how he and Ryan have cultivated a connection both on and off the field that has contributed to the team’s offensive prowess so far.

“I think it starts with, one, we have really good chemistry. I think everyone on the field is best friends with each other,” Berry said. “We’ve been playing with each other for two and a half years now, so I think we’re just getting better as we go.”

The Polar Bears jumped to a 5–1 lead at the end of the first quarter and extended the margin to six goals at halftime. After Colin Campbell’s ’26 first goal of the season to start the third quarter, Wesleyan went on a three-goal run to cut the deficit to four goals. But the Cardinals couldn’t catch up, with the Polar Bears matching each score for the 17–12 win.

The high-score affair was a group effort with 12 different players scoring for the team. Cam Wietfeldt ’27 won 65 percent of his faceoffs to give the Polar Bears more offensive opportunities, while Alec Delgado ’28 bolstered the defense in net with 12 saves.

As described by Ryan and reflected in the box score, offensive depth is one of the team’s strengths.

“I think all six guys on the field at any given time are super dynamic, super versatile and can play anywhere on the field,” Ryan said. “We have a very positive team culture, which is very helpful.”

Despite the perfect record, the team hasn’t had an easy season, including an injury to top defensive player Jack Pyne ’27 and challenging first halves against non-conference opponents.

“We always talk about how, especially on the field, adversity is guaranteed,” Ryan said. “So I think we’ve experienced those setbacks, [and] we feel like there’s nothing we can’t overcome.”

One of these adversities was playing at fourth-ranked Babson College (8–1) on Tuesday night following the road weekend at Wesleyan. After going into the locker room down two goals at halftime, the Polar Bears battled out 12–8 win.

With the end goal being a national championship at the end of May, Berry reminds himself and the team to take things day by day, practice by practice.

“When we’re ten games in, and we have a tough road opponent…,  I think [we emphasize] just staying level headed and being where your feet are when you’re in the locker room so you’re focused on the team and blocking out external factors,” Berry said. “I think that’s a good way to approach every game, and it’s really good for helping us sustain positive energy throughout the season.”

The Polar Bears will return to conference play tomorrow versus Amherst College (3–3; 1–2 NESCAC) at 1 p.m.