HARTFORD, Conn. – Upset-minded Williams took an early 2-1 lead on the defending NCAA Division III champion Trinity, but the lead was short-lived as the Bantams responded with nine unanswered goals to take a commanding 10-2 lead at the half. Trinity is currently ranked first in the IWLCA national poll.
Williams (2-1,1-1 NESCAC) outscored the Bantams 5-4 in the second half, but it was not enough as Trinity improved to 2-0 on the year and 1-0 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference with a 14-7 win.
Trinity was led in scoring by senior attacker Kaitlin Hildebrand who scored three goals and recorded three assists. Senior midfielder Meghan Leonard added three goals for the Bantams.
A free position tally by the Ephs' Stephanie Gallo at 26:14 of the first half gave Williams a brief one-goal lead, 2-1.
Trinity's Caroline Hayes started the Trinity nine-goal first-half spree with a tally off a free-position shot at 22:13 and then she closed out the scoring in the half with another free-position shot with just six seconds left. In between the two Hayes' tallies were goals by five other Bantams.
Gallo and Emily Whicker led the Ephs with two goals apiece.
Trinity had 18 shots on goal on the day, while Williams had 11. Williams sophomore goalie Ali Piltch played 41:20 and allowed 10 goals and made four saves. First year Corey Michon relieved Piltch and played the final 18:40, allowing four goals and she did not record a save.
For Trinity Olivia Whitney started in goal and played the first 47:04, stopping four shots and allowing four goals. Bridget Kitchen came on to play the remaining 12:56 and allowed three goals and denied four Eph shots.
Both teams committed 19 turnovers and Trinity held a slight advantage in ground balls, 15-14.
"I thought we started off pretty well for the first five or so minutes, but then we struggled and Trinity, which is an outstanding team, took advantage," said Eph head coach Chris Mason. "We need to work on our ball handling and cradling, so we can avoid double and triple teams, but I was pleased to see us finish strong."
Next up for the Ephs will be a non-conference contest against Wellesley College at the National Training Center in Orlando, Fla., on Monday at 5 p.m.
