More to Give: Lindsey Diomede Powers Wesleyan’s Final Four Run

Though the Wesleyan women’s lacrosse team’s 2025 season ended one game shy of championship weekend, the Cardinals had a lot to be proud of that day. They had advanced to the quarterfinals for only the second time in program history, and the defense did its job, limiting Colby to just seven goals in a 7-6 defeat.

There was also something to be excited about for the future.

Lindsey Diomede had emerged as a key piece to one of the best defenses in the nation — a breakout that has continued this year. The senior midfielder has shattered Wesleyan records for caused turnovers (77) and ground balls (62) while leading the Cardinals to the NCAA semifinals for the first time since 2019. They’ll play Salisbury on Friday in Rochester, N.Y.

“She’s not a super flashy midfielder,” Williams said. “She’s not going to be the person who every time she has the ball is going to goal. She is the person that does all the little things. She never gives up. She’s an engine.”

Diomede grew up in Westwood, Massachusetts, and played for the vaunted Westwood High School girls’ lacrosse program. In her senior year, the Wolverines finished 25-0 and as state champions. Diomede scored five goals in the final.

Williams first saw Diomede play when she was recruiting two of her club teammates, Lilly Stohler and Becca Dibble. Wesleyan was able to get all three. Diomede was drawn to the NESCAC because of her desire to go to the best academic and athletic school possible. What drew Diomede to Wesleyan, though, was Williams’s leadership and work ethic.

Diomede always saw herself as a two-way midfielder, but she particularly enjoyed the defensive side of the ball.

“The best feeling in the world is making a caused turnover and running up the field past all the attackers and everyone causing a fast break,” she said.

For three years, Diomede played herself into a larger role on Wesleyan, going from 10 games played in her freshman year with seven points and one caused turnover to 21 games played as a junior (including 11 starts) with 13 points and 24 caused turnovers.

Williams said her coaching style is to develop a team with a gritty and scrappy identity, especially on defense. Even before Diomede broke out, she saw those qualities in the young midfielder. Wesleyan plays a zone defense, and Diomede’s self-described role is to “pressure out and cause all the turnovers and get the big plays.”

Her biggest play came during the NESCAC semifinal against Tufts. Down 9-8 with 58 seconds remaining, the Cardinals won the draw, but a shot from Dibble went wide and the Jumbos gained possession with 5.9 seconds remaining. Tufts then called a timeout.

“We were talking about a game plan, how we were going to execute and how we’re going to run that play, and we ended with that conversation of belief,” Wesleyan goalie Izzy Weintraub said. “There’s five seconds left in this game. We just have to go out there, play our hardest and finish to the last buzzer-beater.”

Diomede and Bridget Horst double-teamed Tufts’ Sophie Haas, whom Diomede stripped of the ball. Dibble picked it up and passed it to Addie Cummings, who scored the equalizer as time expired.

In overtime, Diomede won the draw, which led to the game-winning goal by Caroline Cervini and sent the Cardinals back to the conference championship game for a second consecutive season. They won 10-9.

“Just getting to be a part of it, that I got a stick on that, was the most insane feeling. I will never forget that day,” Diomede said. “That was absolutely one of the most fun memories our team has ever had. That moment was when we were all like, ‘Oh my gosh, this season is going to be something. We’re going to the NESCAC championship tomorrow. This season is going to be one for the books.’”

There are two factors that helped Diomede make such a big jump in her senior year. The first is having confidence in the people around her, knowing that if she gets beat, her teammates have her back. The second is Weintraub, a two-time USA Lacrosse Magazine first-team All-American goalie. You can take more risks when there’s a stopper of that caliber behind you.

Diomede said she is especially fond of back-checking.

“Coming out of nowhere, catching the attacker off guard is my main way of producing,” she said. “I love a good ride as well. Coming in from the D, catching the attackers off guard is a big part of our defense.”

Her play has only improved since the Tufts game. Diomede has caused at least four turnovers in each of the last four games, including seven against Trinity in the NCAA quarterfinals. Wesleyan has not allowed an opponent to reach double figures since April 11 and went toe-to-toe with mighty Middlebury in the NESCAC championship game, a 7-5 loss.

Diomede is getting rewarded for her efforts. She has won numerous NESCAC and IWLCA weekly awards and was named a USA Lacrosse first-team All-American alongside Weintraub. On May 5, she was named the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player in Wesleyan history so honored. Diomede was in her education studies class, having just presented her final project, when her phone started blowing up. She excused herself and went to the bathroom to check her messages and Instagram, which is where she saw the news. Some of her teammates were in the same class and soon sought her out to share in the celebration.

Diomede wasn’t expecting the award, and she humbly pointed out that her numbers are a reflection on the play of the defense as a whole unit. Weintraub and Williams, however, also expressed how proud they were of Diomede and how deserving she was to receive all the accolades she had collected.

“It’s awesome,” Weintraub said. “She works so, so hard. I’m so glad that her hard work is paying off and she’s getting recognition for that because she is such a key player in our defense.”

“Lindsey is a really steady leader,” Williams added. “She’s not someone who gets too high or too low. She just comes out, and she just does her job over and over again. She makes plays when the team needs it most. She’s always going to hustle. She’s always going to know what’s needed in that moment.”

The Wesleyan team mantra this season has been, “More to give.” The team has pushed itself in practice to fix mistakes, fine tune the things that are working and add new wrinkles to its schemes.  Twelve seniors have led the way, emphasizing how they’ve experienced big wins and tough losses and how that drives them to want to keep playing in more games.

The Cardinals need one more win to max out their schedule. Diomede is prepared to put everything she has into this week to add one more memory to an unforgettable season.

“I’ve learned that you always have more to give,” she said. “You always have more left in the tank. Even when things aren’t going your way, you can lean on your teammates. There’s always more to give.”