Trinity Women's Lacrosse Escapes Tufts With Win, Remains Flawless After Nine Games
Medford, Mass. - Sophomore Megan Leonhard (Summit, N.J.) scored five goals, including four in the second half, to lead the visiting and No. 4-ranked Trinity College Bantam women's lacrosse team to a narrow 9-8 victory against the No. 12-ranked Tufts University Jumbos in a New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) game this afternoonat Bello Field.
The victory keeps Trinity undefeated at 9-0 and 6-0 in NESCAC. They trailed 5-4 at the half, but had a five-goal run in the second half to overtake the Jumbos. Tufts, which saw its five-game winning streak end, fell to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the conference. First year Gabby Horner (Allentown, NJ) scored three times to lead the Jumbos.
Free position goals were the theme of the day, with the game featuring nine overall. Trinity had two during an early three-goal run that gave the guests a 3-1 lead on Madeline Hardy's (Topsfield, MA) free position goal at 13:59. Tufts had its own three-goal surge to take a 4-3 advantage on a free position goal by first year Kate Applegate (Chadds Ford, Pa.) with 2:41 until halftime. The teams traded goals in the final 2:10 of the half for a 5-4 Jumbo lead.
The hosts increased the margin to 6-4 when junior Casey Egan (Massapequa, N.Y.) scored the first goal of the second half at 26:32. However, Leonhard scored four times during a five-goal Trinity run that put the Bantams ahead 9-6 with 15:47 remaining in regulation. Senior Rachel Romanowsky (Hampstead, N.H.) assisted on two of the goals and had three assists on Leonhard goals in the game overall.
Horner scored a pair of critical goals for the Jumbos as the clock wound down, both on free position shots. Her tallies at 5:10 and 2:42 pulled Tufts to within 9-8. However, Trinity's Hadley Duncan (Rye, N.Y.) controlled the next draw and the Bantams were able to run out the clock for the win.
The tightly contested game saw the Jumbos finish with a 24-19 advantage in shots. Senior Lara Kozin (Suffern, N.Y.) was credited with a pair of assists. Tufts won 11 of the 19 draws, with four by junior Stephanie Perez (East Providence, R.I.). Junior Kelly Cakert (Sudbury, Mass.) caused three turnovers. Senior Sara Bloom (Summit, NJ) saw 44:13 of action in goal and made five saves. Sophomore Kaitlin Hildebrand (Berwyn, Pa.) scored twice for Trinity. They edged the Jumbos in ground balls 14-12, including three by junior Liz Bruno (Andover, Mass.). Sophomore Olivia Whitney (Danvers, Mass.) made eight saves in the Bantam goal to earn the win.
