Gettysburg, Pa. - The Trinity College women's lacrosse team rallied late but fell short of its second NCAA Division III Championship title in three years, suffering a 9-6 setback against the Salisbury University Sea Gulls in the finals on Gettysburg College's Clark Field this afternoon.  Trinity, which won the 2012 NCAA title with an 8-7 win over Salisbury and lost last year's finals, 12-5, against them, finish the 2014 season with a 19-3 record.  Salisbury improved to 23-1 and snapped Trinity's 14-game winning streak with its second victory over the Bantams this spring.  No. 3-ranked Trinity had last lost, 11-8, against Salisbury on March 18 during its spring break trip to Central Florida.

Trinity senior tri-captain defender and all-tournament selection Lyndsey Shepard (Hamilton, Mass.) said, "Making three appearances in the NCAA Finals is what I dreamed about when I thought about being a college athlete.  This was the greatest experience I could have asked for as a student-athlete at Trinity, and I could not have gone through it with a better group of teammates."

Trailing, 5-0, at the break, Trinity came our firing in the seocnd half, as senior tri-captain Kathleen Timmons (Branford, Conn.) scored the first Bantam goal for the second day in a row, converting on a feed by junior midfielder Lindsay Mullaney (Boston, Mass.) just 32 seconds into play after freshman Clare Lyne (Concord, Mass.) had won the draw.  Bantam junior attacker Molly Cox (Norwell, Mass.) scored unassisted at the 26:31 mark to make the score, 5-2, but Salisbury junior attacker Shelby Nemecek (Marriottsville, Md.) ignited a 4-0 Sea Gull rally with a tally from classmate Kate Haker (Westminster, Md.).  Junior midfielder Bethany Baer (Westminster, Md.) scored twice during the Salisbury spurt, and Trinity faced a 9-2 deficit with 17:52 on the clock.

Trinity did not go quietly, scoring the next four goals after a sophomore goalkeeper Emily Mooney (New York, N.Y.) made a clutch save against Sea Gull freshman Kieran Kelleher (Ellicott City, Md.) at the 13-minute mark while the Bantams played a player down.  Trinity senior tri-captain attacker Shea Kusiak (Longmeadow, Mass.) scored first with a side-arm sling off a free position with 17:16 left, and rookie midfielder Karly Simpson (South Hadley, Mass.) made a nice move to navigate through the Salisbury defense and converted the first of her two goals at 9:59.  Kusiak beat Sea Gull senior backstop Ashton Wheatley (Cambridge, Mass.) with a high shot at 9:12, again on a free position, to make the score, 9-5, but Wheatley broke up a pass in front of her net moments later to take Trinity's momentum away.

With just over three minutes left, Bantam junior attacker Renee Olsen (Ridgewood, N.J.) just missed wide left after driving down the middle with Trinity again playing at a disadvantage due to a yellow card, but Simpson made good on a free position with 2:17 on the clock to pull the Bantam to within three at 9-6 with ample time left.  Trinity sophomore midfielder Martha Griffin (Exeter, N.H.) secured the ensuing draw and Lyne had a free-position opportunity with just under two minutes left, but was called for a dangerous shot attempt and Salisbury kept possession for the remainder of play.

"We did a great job on the draw to give ourselves a chance, but it came down the little things late that kept us from making it all the way back," said Trinity Head Coach Kate Livesay.

Trinity had won the game's opening draw and Griffin did not hesitate with a strong move past her defender on the right side, but Wheatley saved the shot.  Sea Gull senior attacker Shannon Carta (Annapolis, Md.) made the first of her three assists in the opening 20 minutes with a pass to sophomore attacker Megan Wallenhorst (Ellicott City, Md.) for the game's first goal at the 23:15 mark. Carta found Nemecek for a second Sea Gull score off a Bantam turnover in its own end 3:05 later, and Haker scored with a low shot on a free position for a 3-0 Sea Gull lead with 17:19 remaining in the first half.

Kusiak nearly put the Bantams on the board midway through the half, weaving through traffic for a shot a close range, but the bid was stopped by Wheatley.  Mullaney and freshman middie Nicole Stauffer (Cheshire, Conn.) both just missed wide from very close on the right side, and a Wheatley save against Simpson while the Sea Gulls were playing a player down in the final minute kept Trinity without a first-half goal for the first time this spring.  Mooney made three saves in final three minutes to keep the deficit within striking distance, including a pivotal stop against Nemecek at point-blank range with just two seconds on the clock.

Trinity won 13 draws and lost just four, but Salisbury held a 12-to-5 advantage on ground balls and forced 13 turnovers while committing eight.  Mooney finished with five saves, while Lyne and junior middie Caroline Hayes (Greenfield, N.H.) added four draw controls apiece, and senior defender Midge Daniel (Wellesley, Mass.) added a pair of caused turnovers.  Haker led all scorers with three goals and one assist, while Carta finished with four assists, and Wheatley had five stops.  Kusiak, Shepard, and Hayes made the Final Four all-tournament team, while Baer was named the MVP of the weekend.

Hartford Courant story

NCAA.com story