Hartford, Conn. – Juniors Clare Lyne (Concord, Mass.) and Karly Simpson (South Hadley, Mass.) tallied three goals and an assist apiece to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 12-9 victory over the visiting Bowdoin College Polar Bears in women's lacrosse action this afternoon on Sheppard Field.  Trinity, ranked No. 10 in the nation, improves to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the NESCAC, while No. 20-ranked Bowdoin drops to 4-5 overall and remains winless in five NESCAC contests.  The game was a Coaches vs. Cancer event, and both teams raised money for the American Cancer Society leading up to it and wore pink warm-up shirts in honor of those who have battled or are battling cancer.

Simpson gave Trinity a 2-1 lead 3:26 into the game with back-to-back goals after Bowdoin senior attacker Megan O'Connor (Concord, Mass.) had scored the first goal of the contest just 1:14 after the opening draw.  Polar Bear senior midfielder Lindsay Picard (New York, N.Y.) tied it at 2-2 on a free-position shot at the 22:05 mark, but Trinity scored three times in a row and remained ahead the rest of the way.  Bantam sophomore Allie Barrett (Concord, Mass.) netted what would prove to be the game-winner with 20:38 on the clock on a free position, followed by an unassisted tally by Lyne, man-up goal from Simpson to sophomore attacker Kiley Coffey (West Newbury, Mass.) 13:24 before halftime.  The teams traded goals twice, but Barrett put the Bantams ahead, 8-4, at the break with a goal just 33 seconds before the break.

Picard scored twice in the opening five minutes of the second half to pull the Polar Bears to within two goals at 8-6.  Lyne scored on a free position at the 22:57 mark, but O'Connor and Picard answered for the visitors to make it a one-goal game at 9-8 with 17:41 left to play.  The Bantam defense held the Polar Bears to just two shots for the remainder of the game, and consecutive goals by Coffey and senior co-captain Martha Griffin (Exeter, N.H.) gave Trinity a three-goal cushion at 11-8 with 11:14 on the clock.  Senior Emma Beecher (Morristown, N.J.) scored for Bowdoin at the 9:06 mark on the final Polar Bear shot of the game, and Trinity sophomore Abby McInerney (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) added an insurance goal with 1:48 left on a free position and no Bowdoin goalie to stop her.

Coffey joined Lyne and Simpson as a Trinity multiple-point scorer with two goals and added a team-high three draw controls, while senior co-captain Ashley Stewart (Dover, Mass.) was stellar for the Bantam defense with game-highs of three ground balls and two caused turnovers to go with an assist at the offensive end.  In goal, sophomore Zoe Ferguson (Ridgewood, N.J.) collected win to improve to 4-1, making seven saves in the first half including two in the final 30 seconds before intermission.  Trinity senior goalkeeper Emily Mooney (New York, N.Y.) added four saves in the second half.  Picard led all scorers with four goals and added an assist, while O'Connor had a hat trick, and Beecher notched a goal and an assist for Bowdoin.  Polar Bear junior Annie Glenn (Salt Lake City, Utah) collected a game-high five draw controls, while sophomore Kayli Weiss (Longmont, Colo.) made six saves in 41-plus minutes in the Bowdoin goal after relieving rookie Erin Morrissey (Arlington, Va.).