HARTFORD, Conn. - Melissa Manzello scored twice to lead the visiting Tufts University Jumbos to a 4-0 victory over the Trinity College Bantams in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) field hockey action this afternoon on Sheppard Field.  Trinity, which outshot the Jumbos, 12-11, falls to 8-2 overall and 4-2 in the NESCAC, while the Jumbos improve to 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the league.  The No. 5-ranked Bantams host conference foe Connecticut College next on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and the No. 5-ranked Jumbos visit top-ranked Middlebury tomorrow at 1 p.m.

The defenses controlled the game early with just three shots taken in the first 14 minutes, but Tufts took a 1-0 lead while Trinity was down a player due to a five-minute yellow card when Schuyler Eddie fed Rachel Scrivanich for a scoring strike from 10 yards away with 41 seconds left in the first quarter.  After a scoreless second period that saw Bantam junior goalkeeper Emma Cropper (Norwalk, Conn.) keep the home team in it with a pair of saves, the Jumbos took control with a pair of goals early in the third frame.  Gillian Roeca scored off a penalty corner 1:21 after the break and Manzello scored her first off a corner moments later.  Claire Foley assisted on Manzello's goal in the third and fed her again in the fourth for the game's final tally.

Trinity had 11 penalty corners to nine for Tufts, but the Jumbos kept them off the board.  Andie Stallman improved to 6-0 with one save in the first half and Sam Gibby made five after halftime for the visitors.  Cropper fell to 6-1 despite making five saves, while rookie defender Izzy Deveney (Westport, Conn.) recorded a pair of defensive saves in the second half.  Trinity senior captain Caelin Flaherty (Upton, Mass.) took a game-high five shots.