Hartford, Conn. – Sophomore Clare Lyne (Concord, Mass.) notched two goals and three assists to lead the Trinity College Bantams to an 18-4 victory over the visiting Tufts University Jumbos in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) women's lacrosse action this afternoon on Sheppard Field.  Trinity, ranked No. 5 nationally, improves to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the NESCAC with its sixth win in a row, while the No. 9-ranked Jumbos drop to 5-2 overall and 1-2 in the league.

With the game tied at 1-1 early, Trinity went on a 5-0 tear over a 6:48 stretch to take a 6-1 lead with 19:20 left in the first half.  Senior attacker Molly Cox (Norwell, Mass.) scored twice during the run that got started at the 26:12 mark on unassisted tally by senior co-captain midfielder Caroline Hayes (Greenland, N.H.).  Jumbo junior attacker Caroline Ross (Sewickley, Pa.) fed classmate Brigid Bowser (Westborough, Mass.) to end the Jumbo scoring drought with 18:25 on the clock, and scored her second goal of the game with 15:41 left in the first half to make the score, 6-3, in Trinity's favor at the midpoint of the opening stanza.

Trinity junior attacker Abby McQuillan (Medfield, Mass.) sparked another 5-0 Bantam run, assisting Lyne and Cox on back-to-back goals just 1:06 apart and scoring her lone marker 1:12 after that.  Lyne scored from rookie Allie Barrett (Concord, Mass.) less than a minute later, and Barrett closed the half with a free-position goal at the 6:55 mark.  Tufts had possession for much of the last six minutes, but the Trinity defense held them without a shot until a free-position shot in the final minute by Jumbo freshman midfielder Callie Nowak (Glenview, Ill.) was saved by Bantam rookie backstop Zoe Ferguson (Ridgewood, N.J.).

Leading, 11-3, at intermission, Trinity received the first of three second-half goals while Tufts was a player down when Lyne assisted sophomore Karly Simpson (South Hadley, Mass.) for Lyne's fifth point of the contest.  Senior Lindsey Walker (Suffern, N.Y.) scored on a free-position shot for Tufts 5:22 into the second frame, but Bantam junior goalie Emily Mooney (New York, N.Y.) kept the visitors at four goals the rest of the way with five saves after relieving Ferguson at halftime.  Trinity scored six times over the final 21:16 of the game including two tallies apiece by junior midfielder Martha Griffin (Exeter, N.H.) and sophomore Emma Malicki (Loudonville, N.Y.).

Cox finished with a hat trick, while Barrett registered two goals and two assists, and Simpson finished with two goals and one assist for the Bantam offense.  Ferguson made eight saves in 30 minutes to earn her first career victory in goal, while Griffin won three draw controls, and senior defender Lindsay Mullaney (Boston, Mass.) collected three ground balls and two caused turnovers for the Bantams.  Ross had two goals, one assist, and two draw controls, while sophomore defender Casey Briody (Ridgefield, Conn.) caused three Bantam turnovers, and senior goalkeeper Rachel Gallimore (Hanover, N.H.) made five saves in 37-plus minutes for Tufts.