HARTFORD, Conn. - The Trinity College Bantams were outscored, 6-1, in the fourth quarter and lost, 20-13, to the visiting Wesleyan University Cardinals in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) women's lacrosse action this evening on Sheppard Field. Trinity, ranked No. 13 in the nation, falls to 9-3 overall and 4-3 in the NESCAC with its first loss in five games. No. 7-ranked Wesleyan improves to 9-2 overall and 5-2 in the league. Trinity will host conference foe Hamilton in its final home game of the 2023 regular season on Saturday at noon. Bantam senior tri-captain attacker
Lily Ives (Chappaqua, N.Y.) had three goals and three assists.
In a tale of two quarters, Trinity rallied back from a 12-9 deficit at the half and scored three of the four goals in the third frame. Kiara Tangney scored for Wesleyan early in the third, but Bantam senior tri-captain
Elle Fair (Westport, Conn.) scored a player-up goal from junior midfielder
Casey Ward (Norwell, Mass.) to ignite a 3-0 run heading into the final break. Ives fed rookie
Alex Lesko (Villanova, Pa.) to make the score, 14-11, and converted on an assist by sophomore
Brooke Kurtz (Alexandria, Va.) to bring the Bantams to within a pair. In the fourth stanza, Wesleyan's Gil Horst scored twice early and Molly Greer had a goal and an assist during a 5-0 spurt for the Cardinals. Trinity first-year attacker
Molly McGuckin (Darien, Conn.) snapped a 12:11 scoring drought with 4:29 on the clock, but the Bantams turned the ball over on its only possession the rest of the way.
Trinity had taken a 3-1 lead to open the game thanks to a pair of Ives goals and a third by McGuckin. Wesleyan tied the contest at 3-3 and Trinity took one-goal leads three separate times in the first half on tallies by McGuckin, Kurtz, and Ward. Ives assisted on two of those go-ahead goals including the Ward's that gave Trinity its final lead at 7-6. Wesleyan took control with a 5-0 run before McGuckin scored on a free position to make it, 14-6, at intermission. Wesleyan outshot Trinity, 35-28, and won 21 of 36 draws. McGuckin finished with a team-high four goals and one assist, while Ward had two goals, two assists, and five draw controls. Fair scooped two ground balls and caused two turnovers, while
Alyssa Vitale (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) and Ali Macdougal (Southbury, Conn.) combined for eight saves. Greer paced the Cardinals with three goals and three assists and Tangney notched three draw controls.
