Hartford, Conn. – Junior midfielder Caroline Hayes (Greenfield, N.H.) scored twice in the final two minutes, including the game-winner with 24 seconds remaining in the game, to complete a dramatic comeback and lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 9-8 victory over the visiting Bowdoin College Polar Bears in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) women's lacrosse action this afternoon on Sheppard Field.  Trinity, ranked No. 7 in the nation, improves to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the NESCAC with its third consecutive win, while No. 18-ranked Polar Bears drop to 3-4 overall and 1-4 in the league with their second setback in a row.

Trinity trailed, 8-5, with 5:46 left in the second half after Bowdoin's fifth unanswered goal by sophomore Megan O'Connor (Concord, Mass.) on a free position, but scored four times in the final 2:44 to finish on top.  Bantam junior attacker Molly Cox (Norwell, Mass.) started the rally with a goal on a free-position shot, and Hayes converted on another free position with a side-arm flip that caromed off Bowdoin junior goalie Isabel Sippel (Ridgewood, N.J.) and into the net with 1:52 remaining.  Trinity sophomore midfielder Martha Griffin (Exeter, N.H.) tied the game at 8-8, at the 1:20 mark, off a rebound after Sippel had saved a free-position shot by classmate Ashley Stewart (Dover, Mass.).  Bantam junior midfielder Lindsay Mullaney (Wellesley, Mass.) had come up with back-to-back draw controls to give Trinity possession for both Hayes' and Griffin's goals and scooped up the ball after Stewart's shot to set Griffin up for her game-tying tally. 

Hayes beat her defender going left and snuck the clincher past Sippel's left leg to give Trinity its first lead since the 25:41 mark of the second stanza, but Bowdoin senior tri-captain Erica Nangeroni (Westwood, Mass.) won the game's final draw and raced down the field to give the visitors a chance to force overtime.  Trinity sophomore goalkeeper Emily Mooney (New York, N.Y.) made the last of her seven saves to stop Bowdoin sophomore Lindsay Picard (New York, N.Y.) from close with eight seconds left.  The Polar Bears had the ball behind the goal with five ticks remaining but failed to off a final shot. 

Griffin and Trinity senior tri-captain attacker Kathleen Timmons (Branford, Conn.) had scored twice each, while Pickard scored three times to account for 4-3 Trinity lead at halftime.  Griffin tallied again 3:03 into the second half, but Polar Bear senior tri-captains Betsy Sachs (Glenside, Pa.) and Jordan Smith (Glen Ridge, N.J.) netted two goals apiece over an 18:30 span before O'Connor's goal to put the visitors ahead, 8-5.  Griffin led all scorers with four goals and added three draw controls, as Trinity finished with a 13-to-6 edge on the draw, while Bantam senior defender Midge Daniel (Wellesley, Mass.) had two ground balls and three caused turnovers.  Sachs totaled a game-high four ground balls and two caused turnovers, while Sippel finished with 12 saves.