Hartford, Conn. – April 13, 2011 – The Springfield College women’s lacrosse team held a one-goal lead with 7:49 to play, however the third-ranked Trinity Bantams rallied to remain unbeaten as they bested the Pride, 8-7, in non-conference play on Wednesday.

Trinity improves to 10-0 as the third ranked team in the country. The Pride dropped to 7-4 as all four of its losses have come to teams that were ranked in the IWLCA Top 20 Poll.

Senior co-captain attacker Rachel Romanowsky stole the ball and scored the game-winning goal in the final minute to lead the Bantams to the dramatic victory.

With the score tied at 7-7 and Springfield holding the ball in its end for over five minutes, Romanowsky knocked the ball loose from behind a Pride player, and quickly picked it up and advanced it down the field, eventually getting the ball back and scoring the clinching goal with 52 seconds left from close on the left side.  Romanowsky controlled the draw after the goal, allowing the Bantams to run the clock to zero.

Trinity sophomore midfielder Megan Leonhard had tied the game at 7-7 with 5:41 remaining, one-timing in a pass from the right wing by junior midfielder Liz Bruno for TrinityÂ's first goal in nearly 15 minutes that snapped a 3-0 Springfield run.

Trinity built an early 4-1 lead, as junior midfielder Alisen Urquhart scored twice during the spurt.  The Pride answered late in the first half when senior tri-captain Meagan Dobson assisted on back-to-back tallies by classmate Nicole Soucie and junior Brittany LeGuelaff .  Sophomore attacker Hadley Duncan shifted the momentum back to the Bantams just before half with a scoring shot as she fell from Urquhart with one second remaining before the break.

Springfield outscored Trinity, 4-1, over the first 24:19 of the second half, receiving a goal and an assist apiece during the run by Soucie and junior midfielder Jackie Moscardelli.  Springfield tied the game at 6-6 at the 12:30 mark on a lofted pass over the Trinity defense by Moscardelli to freshman attacker Kelly Gallo who quickly shot past Trinity sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Whitney from point-blank range. Springfield then took its only lead of the game on a goal from LeGuelaff to Soucie with 7:49 left in regulation.

Trinity outshot Springfield, 29-13, and held a 19-10 edge on ground balls and a 10-6 edge on the draw.  Bruno, Leonhard, and Urquhart each finished with two goals and one assist, while Leonhard added a game-high four ground balls and two draw controls, and Whitney made all four of her saves in the first half. 

Soucie totaled three goals and one assist, and Moscardelli added one goal and two assist for the Pride offense, while freshman goalie Anne Versprille made 10 stops for the Pride.

Springfield will next play on Saturday evening when it challenges MIT at 6:00 pm in a New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) showdown.