Hartford, Conn. - The Trinity College defense forced 23 turnovers and held visiting Ithaca College to 16 shots, as the Bantams led wire to wire in a 11-8 win over the Bombers in the second round of the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament this afternoon on Sheppard Field.  Trinity, ranked No. 7 in the nation, improves to 16-3 and advances to the third round against the winner of this afternoon's Denison/Mary Washington game next weekend at a site to be determined.  Ithaca ends its year with a 14-6 record, falling on the road to the Bantams for the second time in the NCAA Tournament after a 13-6 setback in the 1998 opening round.

Trinity sophomore attacker Abby McInerney (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) scored the game's first goal 21 seconds into the contest from junior attacker Clare Lyne (Concord, Mass.), and senior co-captain midfielder Martha Griffin (Exeter, N.H.) added an unassisted tally with 26:09 on the clock.  Ithaca senior midfielder Riley Marion (Dartmouth, Mass.) halved the Trinity lead with a free-position shot past Trinity senior goalkeeper Emily Mooney (New York, N.Y.) with 21:45 remaining, and the teams traded goals on free position shots before McInerney scored back-to-back to put Trinity ahead, 5-2, with 10:51 left before the break.  Marion and Griffin added first-half goals, and the Bantams went to intermission with a 6-3 advantage having held the Bombers to six shots, forcing 13 turnovers, and holding a 8-to-2 edge on the draw.

Ithaca scored three of the first four goals in the second half to cut the Trinity lead to 7-6 with 17;12 on the clock on Marion's third tally of the game.  Bantam junior attacker Emma Malicki (Loudonville, N.Y.) answered less than a minute later followed by goals 27 seconds apart by sophomore attacker Allie Barrett (Concord, Mass.) and Malicki to push Trinity back up by three at 10-6 at the 13:13 mark.  Juniors Morgan Cadwell (Watertown, N.Y.) and Morgan Racicot (Geneva, N.Y.) scored for the Bombers inside the 12-minute mark to make the score, 11-8, with 9:25 left, but Bantam sophomore goalie Zoe Ferguson (Ridgewood, N.J.) made saves on the only two Ithaca shots on goal of the final nine minutes and four different Bantams forced turnovers down the stretch to preserve the victory for the home squad.

Trinity finished with a 34-to-16 shooting edge and a 16-to-5 advantage on draw controls.  Griffin totaled three goals, one assist, a game-high six draw controls, and two caused turnovers, while McInerney also had a hat trick, and Barrett and Malicki scored twice each for the Bantams.  Junior midfielder Karly Simpson (South Hadley, Mass.) and senior co-captain Ashley Stewart (Dover, Mass.) added four ground balls apiece, and junior Meghan Collins (Marblehead, Mass.) and sophomore attacker Kiley Coffey (West Newbury, Mass.) caused three turnovers each for the Bantams.  Mooney and Ferguson combined for four saves.  Cadwell joined Marion as a multiple-goal scorer for Ithaca with a pair of goals and added two draw controls, while freshman midfielder Allison Panara (Pittsford, N.Y.) finished with one goal and one assist, and rookie attacker Danika Wagener (Bethel, Conn.) added a goal and three ground balls.  Goalies Emily Ross (Stony Brook, N.Y.) and Kimberly Presuto (Woodbury, N.Y.) were both solid in the Bomber goal with 14 saves between them.