Hartford, Conn. – Sophomore midfielder Megan Leonhard (Summit, N.J.) scored the game-winning goal with 7:37 left in the second half on an assist by senior co-captain attacker Rachel Romanowsky (Hampstead, N.H.) to lead the Trinity College to a 9-8 victory against the visiting Amherst College Lord Jeffs in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) women's lacrosse regular-season finale for both teams this evening on Sheppard Field.  Trinity, ranked No. 3 in the nation, finishes with a perfect regular season for the second time at 14-0 and 9-0 in the NESCAC, while the No. 15-ranked Lord Jeffs close the regular campaign at 9-5 overall and 4-5 in the league with their first loss in three games.  Trinity had already clinched the top seed in the NESCAC Championship Tournament for the second year in a row, and will host Williams College on Sunday, May 1 at noon in the opening round.  No. 7-seeded Amherst visits Bowdoin Sunday in its league tourney opener.  Trinity and New Jersey are the lone undefeated teams remaining in NCAA Division III play.  The Bantams were 8-0 in the 1987 regular season and won the NIAC Championship Tournament to finish at 10-0.

“We were trying to win a game heading into the post-season, that's all,” said Trinity Head Coach Kate Livesay (5th Season) after the game.  “We did not talk about or focus on going undefeated at any time during the year.  It's an incredible achievement, especially when you consider how tough are league is, but it was not something that we ever spent any time thinking about.  I am just proud of how we played today, particularly on defense.  I think our midfield caused some turnovers that got Amherst out of its rhythm.  They played us very tough today.”

Amherst opened up a 5-2 lead in the first 20 minutes of play, including two scores by sophomore midfielder Marta Randall (Monkton, Md.), but Trinity closed the half with three straight goals to account for a 5-5 tie at the break.  Randall netted her third goal 4:40 into the second half, but Trinity answered when Romanowsky fed junior midfielder Liz Bruno (Andover, Mass.) from behind the net and Bruno caught the ball and finished the play high in one motion to beat Lord Jeff junior goalie Lamia Harik (Rye Brook, N.Y.) and tie it back up, 6-6.  Trinity went ahead, 8-6, on back-to-back scores in traffic by freshman attacker Shea Kusiak (Longmeadow, Mass.) and sophomore attacker Hadley Duncan (Rye, N.Y.), but Amherst freshman Annelies O'Dea (Pittsford, N.Y.) assisted sophomore attacker Hillary Denson (Summit, N.J.) on a goal with 14:25 left and scored the game-tying goal 1:09 later.  The game remained knotted at 8-8 for the next six minutes, when Romanowsky assisted Leonhard on a nearly identical scoring play as the one to Bruno earlier in the half.  Trinity junior goalie Gina Dinallo (West Hartford, Conn.), who had entered the game with Trinity trailing, 5-2, made a key save on an Amherst free-positon shot with 5:50 on the clock.  Both defenses forced turnovers in the final 2:30, but Trinity gained possession with 1:12 left and held the ball the rest of the way.

Leonhard finished with three goals and four ground balls, while Kusiak and senior co-captain midfielder Alisen Urquhart (Redding, Conn.) scored twice apiece for the Bantams.  Urquhart also caused three turnovers, while Dinallo and sophomore backstop Olivia Whitney (Danvers, Mass.) combined for three Trinity saves.  O'Dea totaled two goals, one assist, and four ground balls, and Meredith Larose notched three ground balls and three caused turnovers, while Harik and M.C. McClellean (Denver, Colo.) finished with seven saves between them.

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