MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Skidmore College men's lacrosse team's upset bid fell just short as No. 9 Wesleyan held on to a 12-9 victory at Jackson Field Tuesday afternoon.
 
Skidmore falls to 6-7 overall on the season, while the ninth-ranked Cardinals improve to 12-1.
 
Brendan Halloran led the Thoroughbreds with six points on a pair of goals and four assists. Cody Legeza and Eric Megnia each tallied two goals. Jack Metzler also picked up two points, on a goal and assist. Colby Farnham and RJ Caruso wrapped up the goal scoring, while Will Lukas added an assist.
 
Ryan Warnock picked up six ground balls and won five faceoffs, and Halloran, Lukas, and Logan Hart each caused a turnover. Chris Baughan tallied 14 saves in a valiant effort in the cage.
 
Harry Stanton tallied four goals and added two assists, while Carter Hawthorne tallied three goals and added an assist to lead Wesleyan on offense. Ted Bergman picked up the victory, stopping 12 shots in goal.
 
Legeza got the scoring started for the Thoroughbreds in the first quarter. Flying down from the midfield, he beat a defender and launched a long shot that found the net at 8:27. Wesleyan responded 1:26 later, on a man-up opportunity, then added a pair to take a 3-1 lead. Metzler ended the run, picking off a Wesleyan pass on the ride and scoring Skidmore's second at 1:51.
 
In the second, the Cardinals added a goal to take a two-goal lead, but the Thoroughbreds fought back to tie the game at four heading into the half. Lukas found Halloran on the crease for the goal at 5:55, then Halloran paid it forward with his feed to Caruso at 3:43.
 
The Cardinals came out the gate strong in the second half, scoring the first four goals in the third quarter to lead 8-4. Legeza broke the run with his second goal of the game at 2:45, taking a feed from Halloran. The fourth quarter saw Wesleyan score its ninth goal of the game at 12:42, before Skidmore responded 1:34 later with a Farnham goal on Halloran's third assist of the game. That led to a wild final push. Metzler found Halloran on the crease for his second goal of the game at 7:06, then Megnia scored unassisted on a loose ball near the crease to bring the Wesleyan lead to 9-8 with 5:27 left. Skidmore got the ball off the ensuing faceoff, but the Wesleyan pressure led to the turnover, with the Cardinals scoring the crucial goal at 4:25. Skidmore would score one more, on Megnia's second goal at 3:26, but Wesleyan added the game's final two goals in the last 1:34 of regulation.
 
Wesleyan outshot the Thoroughbreds 46-31 and held a 41-29 advantage in ground balls. Skidmore was a healthy 15-for-17 in clear attempts, while Wesleyan went 14-for-16. The Thoroughbreds converted on 1-of-5 man-up opportunities and Wesleyan cashed in on both attempts.
 
Skidmore returns to league action on Saturday, when the Thoroughbreds take their annual North Country trip, facing Clarkson in Potsdam at noon.