Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Bantams Clinch First Seed in the NESCAC with Win over Bates

The Bantams clinched the regular season NESCAC title by downing Bates, 10-5, as Middlebury defeated Tufts, 13-9. The combination of these outcomes put Trinity alone atop the leader board, regardless of the results of the final weekend of regular season play.

The Bantams travelled to Lewiston, Maine to face the Bobcats on Saturday. With beautiful, sunny playing conditions, the Bantams came out strong, winning the first draw control. However, after being unable to capitalize on the first possession, the Bobcats successfully transitioned the ball to Trinity’s defensive end, where they settled into play and focused on maintaining possession. After about ten minutes of play, in which the defense had to be very patient and disciplined, the Bobcats turned the ball over and the Bantams went on attack once again. After the Bantams lost the ball in the 8 meter, Liz Bruno came up with a great interception and streaked in alone on the goalie. With a defender on her right, Bruno made a nice switch to her left hand and put the ball in on the goalie’s nonstick side.

The Bantams followed up with two more goals, an unassisted effort from Caite, before Hadley assisted Kaitlin to make the score 3-0. The Bobcats responded with a goal of their own on a crease roll from the left. Liz answered, with her second tally of the game on a free position. The Bantams and the Bobcats continued to trade goals, with the Bantams leading 5-2 at the half on a Caite Irvine goal assisted by Jenn. The teams continued to trade goals early in the second half, until the Bantams went on a four goal run to take a 9-4 lead. Caite contributed her third goal of the game, as well as her second assist, on a goal from Kristin, to cap the run. The Bobcats managed a 5th tally with just over ten minutes left, but Sarah put the game away on an unassisted drive with 7 minutes left. The Bantam attack was once again a balanced effort, with 7 different players scoring on two free position goals, four assisted goals, and four unassisted drives.

The Bantam defense was strong, especially in transition. Everyone chipped in to come up with a number of turnovers in the midfield, not giving Bates the chance to settle in on attack. The Bantams caused a total of 13 turnovers, with a truly incredible effort from Liz, who contributed 8 of the 13. Liz also picked up 5 ground balls and a draw control to go with her two goals. When the Bobcats did settle into play, the defensive unit did a great job of being disciplined and patient considering the unique style of play the Bobcats employed. Bates spread out in the attacking thirty, focusing on possession. Gina finished the game with 4 saves, coming up with three of those in the second half to keep the Bantams ahead.

The Bantams will face Amherst, at Amherst, in the last regular season game on Friday night, before looking to the NESCAC playoffs on Sunday.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Player Profile of the Week


KRISTIN PHELPS

Year: 2010

Major: Economics

Minor: Human Rights

Position: Attack

Uniform #: 13

High School: Lincoln-Sudbury

Post Trinity Plans: Working on it..

Favorite Sports Quote: "You will alway miss 100% of the shots you don't take" -Wayne Gretzky

Favorite Practice Drill? Power/Finesse Shooting Drill

Why did you choose Trinity? Looking at both academics and athletics, Trinity just seemed like a good fit and I could not be happier with my decision.

What does Trin Lax mean to you? To me, Trinity Lacrosse represents a total team effort, hard work, determination, "helping a sista out", and giving it your all 100% of the time. The constant love and support (on and off the field) that our team shares is an added bonus that I definitely don't think many teams experience to the extent that we do.

Favorite Trin Lax memory? Beating Middlebury for the first time since 1989 for my senior game, without even thinking twice about it.

Any advice you have for your teammates? Never give up. There is always going to be ups and downs, good games and bad games, but no matter how many minutes you play, goals your score, or goals you stop, keep your head up, lean on your teammates and be confident in yourself.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Bantams Celebrate Senior Day with Win over Middlebury, 12-8

The Bantams jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never trailed to beat the Panthers for the first time since 1989. It was Senior Day in Hartford, with Annie, Carrie, Jenn, Kristin, and Remer being honored for their dedication and commitment to Trinity Lacrosse. Before the game the following was read for the seniors:

# 4 Jenn Calver from Woodstock, VT
A four year starter and voted captain in her senior season, Jenn has been a leader and calming force of the attack since her debut in the blue and gold. Just 6 points shy of a career total 100, Jenn has been an offensive threat while managing to direct and lead her teammates on and off ball in the attacking end. Fearless on the re-defend her hustle and determination provided us with more than just offensive production, between the 30’s Jenn is also a force to be reckoned with. Jenn has lead by example and shown dedication to this team on and off the field. Thank you Jenn, we will miss you!

# 5 Annie Cook from Washington, DC
Annie has been a vital member of the defensive unit throughout her career as a Bantam. Her focus, determination and unwillingness to give up make her a force on groundballs. Her ability to see the whole 8 and communicate with her teammates makes everyone she is playing with better and our team stronger. Annie has helped lead the defense this season with passion and everyday works to make it better than the day before. Annie’s tenacity, hustle and leadership make her not only a fierce competitor but a fiercely loyal teammate whose commitment to this team is without question. Thank you Annie, we will miss you!

#13 Kristin Phelps from Sudbury, MA
In her senior season Kristin has broken out and become an offensive threat that has yet to be stopped. Through hard work, determination and an unwavering devotion to the team she has showed what a positive attitude and a desire to contribute can result in. Kristin’s ability to create plays for teammates and her own confidence with the ball make her a leader and steady force on the attack. It is that same confidence with the ball that make her a threat every time she shoots or looks to feed a teammate. Kristin’s dedication to this team has extended far beyond the boundaries of the field to all her teammates over the past four years. Thank you Kristin, we will miss you!

#14 Carrie Wolcott from Hamilton, MA
Voted captain in her senior season Carrie has set the tone for hard work and dedication this season. Her speed, footwork and great body positioning make her a defender tough for any opponent to match up with. Leading by example Carrie has helped to ensure that every day everyone is working their hardest and putting out their best effort. Both on and off the field she has displayed confidence and commitment to this team that her teammates thrive off of. Carrie’s hustle and hard work are contagious and she displays them both every time she dons the blue and gold and represents this team with honor and fearlessness. Thank you Carrie, we will miss you!

# 19 Sarah Remes from Silver Spring, MD
A four year starter and also voted captain in her senior season Remer has been the backbone of our midfield for four years. Always the unselfish teammate Remer has been running sprints up and down the field giving everything she has on both the offensive and defensive end to help out her teammates. Closing in on the century mark in career points, draw controls and groundballs Remer is one of the most effective and productive midfielders in the conference. Her ability to win the draw is unparalleled and her speed and quickness make her a threat and pest to opposing defenders and attackers alike. Remer’s unselfish play and dedication to this team have made her a leader and teammate everyone can rely on both on and off the field. Thank you Remer, we will miss you!

The seniors played true to these words, dominating from the very first draw to set the tone for the game. Trinity once again opened the game with a balanced attack, getting goals from four different players, Megan, Caite, Rachel, and Alisen, in a number of different ways. Megan and Alisen both scored on free positions, while Caite finished a nice feed from Rachel before Rachel put one in herself on a drive from the crease. Though Middlebury managed to put one in off a drive, the Bantams were quick to respond, with a goal from Jenn, followed by another free-position goal from Alisen. Middlebury capitalized on a drive opportunity, but the Bantams once again responded with a pair of goals to make the score 8-2. Rachel scored her second of the game, while first-year Hadley was fouled in the 8 meter and took advantage of her free position opportunity. After another Middlebury tally, Megan and Caite each scored on free-positions for their second goals of the game. Remer and Rachel finished out the scoring to give the Bantams a comfortable 12-4 lead with 15 minutes left in the second half. The Panthers rallied for four unanswered goals to pull to within four, but the comeback stopped there, as the Bantams were able to stall for the final 5 minutes of play.

The Bantam defense, led by Carrie and Annie, did a stellar job shutting down the strong Middlebury attack. Bruno led the defense with 3 caused turnovers and 4 ground balls, while Gina picked up 3 ground balls and 3 interceptions to go with an impressive 9 saves in net. Middlebury dominated the draw controls, winning 14 of the 19, forcing the defense to come up with turnovers. Emma contributed 3 caused turnovers, Alisen picked up two, and Jenn, Caite, Annie, Carrie, Remer, and Mal caused 1 apiece to total 14 caused turnovers.

It was definitely a great day to be a BANT! The celebration was capped off by a great tailgate put on by the parents. Thanks again to the parents, and a special thanks to the senior parents who have been so supportive the past four years! We will finish out our non-conference play with a game at Eastern CT on Thursday, before playing conference foe Bates on Saturday.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Trinity Beats Springfield, 11-9

The Bantams came out firing against a very athletic Springfield team, scoring the first four goals of the contest with a balanced offensive effort. Alisen, Sarah, Caite, and Rachel all scored. Alisen got things started on a well-placed free position goal after being side-lined for a couple games with an injury. Springfield was able to get on the board, using their speed to score two nice transition goals. However, Trinity rebounded with goals from Caite (who finished with four to lead the Bantams in goals) and Rachel (who finished with two goals, and an impressive four assists, to lead the Bantams in points).

The Bantams headed into the second half holding a 7-4 advantage. After giving up a few fast break goals in the first, the focus of the second half was slowing down the athletic Springfield team in transition. Annie and Carrie were great on defense, using their speed to come up with dropped balls in the midfield. The Bantams were also great off the draw, winning 15 of a possible 22 draws, with Rachel collecting four, Megan three, and Sarah, Caite, and Liz picking up two apiece.

Though the Bantams started the second half strong to take a 10-4 lead with twenty minutes left, the Pride battled back to make the game interesting in the last five minutes. Springfield scored four unanswered goals to close to within two, 10-8, but Trinity added an insurance tally with Caite scoring her fourth goal of the game on a great feed from Rachel with just over ten minutes left. The score remained 11-8 until Springfield scored on a free position with 3 minutes left. The Bantams won the ensuing draw control, but a turnover in the last minute gave the Pride a breakaway opportunity. Gina came up with a huge save, her seventh save of the game, to keep the score at 11-9.

Heading into Saturday’s highly anticipated contest against Middlebury, the Bantams will look to reduce the number of turnovers and take advantage of offensive opportunities.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Player Profile of the Week


JENN CALVER

Year: 2010

Major: Political Science

Position: Attack

Uniform #:
4

High School:
Holderness School

Post Trinity Plans: Tuck Bridge Business Program at Dartmouth – then, who knows!?!

Favorite Sports Quote:
“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”

Favorite Practice Drill?
New Blue/New Gold! I like drills in small spaces…

Why did you choose Trinity?
I needed to get out of small-town life (i.e. growing up in Vermont and boarding school in New Hampshire) and into the city for a change of perspective… also, it’s a great school and the lax program is awesome!!!

What does Trin Lax mean to you? Family. A cliché, I know, but I genuinely feel as though each and every member of the team is a member of my family – I’ve never been a part of a team that is so close-knit and supportive of one another.

Favorite Trin Lax memory?
Beating Washington & Lee on their home turf last spring! We played so well collectively and went into the game with no expectation of winning, only the expectation that we would work together and play our game – and it paid off BIG TIME! Also, beating Amherst in overtime in NESCAC semi-finals 2 years ago!

Any advice you have for your teammates?
Have confidence in yourself. Don’t worry about making mistakes because it is only by acknowledging your faults and errors that you will learn and become a better player/person. I’ve learned to approach each and every practice/game as if I’m the best player on the field – that way, if I take a bad shot or drop a pass, I can easily bounce back without getting down on myself.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Bantams Fall to Tufts for First Loss of the Season

The Bantams’ effort fell short on Saturday against a strong Tufts opponent, resulting in the first loss of the season for Trinity (now 8-1). The Jumbos and the Bantams traded goals early in the first half, with the score evened at four apiece after twenty minutes of play. Tufts started to pull away at the end of the first half, scoring on two assisted goals to take a 6-4 lead into halftime. They continued on their run in the second half, picking up another two goals to widen the gap to 8-4. However, the Bantams responded with a three goal effort from three different people, first-years Megan and Kaitlin, and junior Caite, to close the gap to 8-7. It was Caite’s third goal of the game, scoring off a nice assist from Rachel, who led the team in assists with four nice feeds into the 8 meter. Tufts fired back, beating the Bantam defense on two more assisted goals before Kaitlin scored her third of the game on a well-placed free position shot. Rachel followed up with an unassisted tally to pull the Bantams within one with just under four minutes left. Gina came up with a few huge saves in the final minutes to keep the Bantams alive, but the Jumbos were able to capitalize on a turnover to score a fast break goal with two minutes left, making the score 11-9.

The defense did a great job against the league’s top scoring offense, but the Jumbo’s made the most of second chance opportunities, scooping up 18 ground balls and winning 14 draw controls. Tufts was also able to limit their fouls to only 11, while the Bantams picked up 22 fouls, including 7 in the 8 meter to result in free position chances for the Jumbos. Although it is never fun to lose, the game was a great challenge for the Bantams and showed us what areas to improve on (GBs and DCs!). And despite the outcome, there was a lot of great play from the Bantams. Carrie had a great game on defense, picking up two grounds balls, two draw controls, and one caused turnover. Her speed was a big factor in our ability to transition the ball from defense to attack. Gina was outstanding in net, making 13 saves to keep the Bantams in the contest. The Bantams are looking to rebound this week with games against Springfield and Middlebury and have entered the week of practice with great focus! Thanks again to the parents for a great tailgate!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Team Effort Pushes the Bantams Past Wesleyan

The Bantams were not deterred by the hottest day of the season so far, cruising past Wesleyan by a score of 16 to 8. Caite led the charge with a 6 goal, 2 assist effort, while first-years Kaitlin and Megan each contributed a hat trick. Caite was a sparkplug for the offense, scoring 4 of Trinity’s first 6 goals, using her speed to get in on free positions as well as to win draw controls and score on fast breaks.

The Bantam attack read the Cardinal defense well, taking drives when available, but also pulling out and settling the play when necessary. Of the 16 goals, 5 were assisted, with feeds coming from Caite (2), Jenn, Rachel, and Kristin. In addition to 5 assisted goals, the attack drew a number of fouls in the 8 meter, earning 13 free position opportunities and converting on 8 of them. After working hard in practice on shooting this week, it was great to see such a strong offensive output of 16 goals on 28 shots.

The defensive effort was a true team effort, with the Bantams working hard to force turnovers in the midfield, close doubles, and collapse on attackers in the 8 meter. The team caused 13 turnovers, while scooping up 19 ground balls and winning 16 draw controls. Emma, Annie, Liza, Carrie, Kayla, Joy, and Lauren all contributed to the defensive effort, while Sarah, Liz and first-years Megan and Mal were stellar in the midfield. Steph made four strong saves in net to anchor the defense.

With Wesleyan behind us, the Bantams are excited to face another NESCAC foe, Tufts, at home on Saturday! Thanks again to the parents for such great support and amazing food!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Bants defeat NESCAC foe Williams with ease

Another beautiful Saturday on the Robin L. Sheppard turf came and went and the team once again proved too much for the opposition, conference rivals Williams. Lead by Rachel and Remer who each had three goals a piece the offense came out firing scoring the fist three goals of the game and not letting up providing the team with an 8-2 lead going into the half. Jenn, Caite, Kristin, Lenny and Alisen all chipped in with goals or assists of their own adding to what has become a staple of this team, a balanced scoring effort.

Fouls would be the name of the game elsewhere on the field, between the two teams 67 whistles were blown, 4 yellow cards distributed and 2 green cards. It was a frustrating game to watch and even more frustrating to play in but the team did a fantastic job keeping their composure and focusing on executing our game plan not the officials.

On the defensive side Gina had a great outing in cage stopping 6 shots, several at huge points in the game and leading our defense to yet another great performance. Annie, Bruno, Liza, Emma and Mal all contributed to the strong defensive effort, combining for 11 caused turnovers and shutting down a Williams most powerful attackers.

All over the field it was a team effort and the end result was a commanding 12-5 win. We are also happy to report that we outscored Williams in BOTH halves, a team goal that we have been striving towards for the past few games.
Stay tuned for our next update as we get prepare to square off against in state rivals Wesleyan Wednesday evening at 5:00pm. The Connecticut Cup is on the line in addition to an important conference win so the stakes are high but not to worry the team is ready to rise to the challenge!

Defensive Effort Pushes Trinity Past Union

Although the Union College Dutchwomen came out firing, scoring the first three goals of the contest, the Bantam defense settled into play and did not allow another goal until the final four minutes of play. The Trinity offense was able to eliminate the three goal deficit with a strong effort from Rachel Romanowsky. Rachel scored two nice transition goals, before assisting first-year Kaitlin Hildebrand on the tying tally. Rachel then finished out the half with another unassisted goal to put the Bantams up 4-3 going into halftime.

Sarah Remes got things started for the Bantams in the second half, driving hard right to goal and scoring on a well-placed low shot. Caite Irvine continued the run by driving through two Union defenders. She found herself in a great shooting position and scored on another low shot. The Union goalie managed to hold our attack to only six goals, stuffing Rachel on a breakaway chance while also denying others on free position opportunities.

The Bantam defense was outstanding, denying Union scoring opportunities for the majority of the game. Sarah, while contributing on attack, was also a standout member of the defensive unit, using her speed to break up a number of free position chances for the Dutchwomen. Liz Bruno and Liza Beckler were impressive on defense as well, causing a combined nine turnovers while picking up six ground balls. Steph Fisher was strong in goal, finishing with two saves, while successfully clearing on every attempt.

The ending of the game was as exciting as ever; with the Bantams holding a 6-5 lead, the Dutchwomen turned up the pressure, causing a turnover during the Bantam stall, which led to a good scoring opportunity. After a Bantam fouled in the 8 meter, the Dutchwomen were awarded a free position shot with only six seconds remaining. A collective sigh of relief was heard as the shot sailed wide and the Bantams celebrated their 6th straight win.