SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The 15th-ranked Trinity College Women's Lacrosse team continued their strong start to the season with a 13-5 win over host Springfield College on Wednesday afternoon. Trinity remains undefeated at 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the NESCAC, while Springfield suffered their first loss of the season, falling to 3-1.
First-year Erica Kierstead led the Bantams with four goals, converting four of her five shots on goal for an impressive 80% shooting accuracy. Junior Brooke Kurtz contributed four assists and two ground balls, while teammate Grace Denious filled the stat sheet with three goals, two ground balls, one caused turnover, and three draw controls. Senior Alex Lesko also scored three goals, adding one ground ball and one caused turnover. Senior Rebecca Strouch collected five ground balls, and Emily Ambrozy also contributed five ground balls in the win.
For Springfield, three players found the back of the net: Izzy Lalancette scored twice, while Lily Johnson and Samantha Andresen each tallied one goal.
The game began with Denious scoring the opening goal just over a minute into play, a player-down goal that put Trinity ahead early. Springfield quickly responded with a goal from Lalancette, tying the game at 1-1 within three minutes. The Pride took the lead, 2-1, with an even-strength goal from Andresen, assisted by Isabella Mazzi. Kurtz then found Denious with a precise pass, allowing her to score the equalizer, making it 2-2 with 7:34 remaining in the first. However, Springfield regained the lead just over a minute later, as Andresen scored again to put the Pride up, 3-2. The Bantams fought back, and with just five seconds left in the quarter, Restivo scored the equalizer, making it 3-3 as the teams headed into the second frame.
After a scoreless start to the second quarter, Lesko gave the Bantams the lead again with a goal assisted by Kurtz. Springfield responded with a goal from Johnson to tie the game at 4-4. At 3:59, junior Zito scored a player-up goal to push Trinity back into the lead, 5-4.
In the third quarter, the Bantams surged ahead with five different players finding the back of the net. Kierstead was unable to be stopped as she opened the scoring with two goals, both unassisted. Denious, Lesko, and Armentrout each added a goal as Trinity stretched their lead to 10-5 entering the final quarter. Springfield managed just one goal early in the quarter, but their momentum quickly faded as the Bantams dominated.
The final frame saw Trinity outshoot Springfield, 6-2. Kierstead added two more goals, followed by one from Lesko, securing the 13-5 victory.
Trinity outshot Springfield, 28-14, and held the edge in draw controls, 12-10. Bantams sophomore goalie Ali Macdougall made four saves and completed 16 clears. Springfield's Kate Laico stopped eight shots and also completed 16 clears in the loss.
The Bantams will host Tufts University in their "Let Her Play" game on Saturday, March 8th at 12 p.m. on Robin L. Sheppard Field.
TRINITY ATHLETICS
