Hartford, Conn. – After 33 days without competition, the Trinity College men's lacrosse program opened its NESCAC season with a gutsy 13-10 win at home against Hamilton Sunday afternoon. The Bantams (3-0, 1-0 NESCAC) never lost the lead, and were able to outduel a physical Hamilton squad.

The Continentals (0-3, 0-1 NESCAC) were led offensively by Ben Gardner, who notched a hat trick — scoring all three goals in the second half — in the setback. Goaltender Max Scheidl took the loss in net, turning away 11 of 21 shots on net.

Trinity saw five different goal-scorers in the contest, with senior Jack Cahill (Medfield, Mass.) leading the way with four. Senior Drew Kozub (Mashpee, Mass.) netted a first-half hat trick, and junior Connor McCulloch (Alexandria, Va.) earned his second hat trick of the season.

On top of scoring a goal and adding an assist, first year Dane Crowley (Pelham, N.Y.) was sensational once again in the face-off circle. The rookie won 16 of 25 and finished with a game-high 15 ground balls. Sophomore Patrick Grimes (Morristown, N.J.) picked up the win in net, stopping nine shots on the day.

Cahill started the scoring four minutes into play before Hamilton's Alex Choy tied the game. Kozub would then ignite the Bantam offense, scoring all three of his goals inside a two-minute span and picking up his second and third twelve seconds apart to make it 4-1 Trinity. A goal from Christian Byrne cut the Bantams lead in half at the 2:25 mark in the first half.

McCulloch would start the second quarter with two straight goals, and was followed by junior Harrison Ike's (Allentown, Pa.) first goal of the contest to make it 7-2. The Continentals picked up steam offensively, scoring four straight before Ike netted his second of the contest. Crowley would follow with his lone score, but Hamilton would tag on another to make it 9-6 at the half.

With an explosive first half, the final 30 minutes saw just eight goals between the two sides. Gardner scored both of Hamilton's third quarter goals, and his third tally at the 12:50 mark in the fourth quarter brought the Continentals within one, but that was as slim of a margin that Trinity allowed for the remainder of the game. Cahill would score two of his four goals in the final 12 minutes of action, helping Trinity lock in a 13-10 win.

The Bantams conclude its home stand for 2021, playing its final two NESCAC contests on the road next weekend. The team will use this week to prepare for a road showdown at Williams on Saturday, May 1, with game time set for 3 p.m.

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