MANSFIELD, Conn. – The Wesleyan University field hockey team made sure that the suspense that surrounded its one-goal wins over Eastern Connecticut State University each of the last three years would not be present this year. The Cardinals scored three goals in a span of 11 minutes on the way to a 6-0 non-conference victory in their season-opener Wednesday night at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex.

 Wesleyan nursed an early 1-0 lead into the late stages of the first half, when junior Rachel Curran and senior co-captain Meghan Jain broke through just over a minute apart to provide the visitors with a 3-0 halftime lead. A minute into the second half, freshman Colleen Carrigan put the match out of reach with her first collegiate goal, making it 4-0.

Eastern (0-2) was outshot 31-4 and managed only one penalty corner, but got encouraging net play from first-year goalies Keira Integlia (Branford) and Abby Harris (Windham, NH) and a standout effort from senior defender Stephanie Hogan (Northford). Integlia stopped 14 shots – many coming in the opening 20 minutes that kept it a 1-0 game – before Harris turned aside nine over the final 22 minutes

Eastern opens its Little East Conference season Saturday, hosting Massachusetts Dartmouth at noon in its third straight home contest.