No. 10 Women’s Lacrosse Pulls Away from Diplomats to Reach NCAA Third Round

HARTFORD, Conn. — No. 10 nationally ranked Trinity College advanced to the NCAA Third Round in the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship with a 12-7 victory over No. 17 Franklin & Marshall Sunday afternoon at Robin L. Sheppard Field. The Bantams improve to 14-5 on the season, while the Diplomats conclude their year at 11-10.

The NCAA Third Round field is now set, with Trinity slated to face No. 8 Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday, May 16 at 2 p.m. at Wesleyan University.

What Happened

After trailing 2-1 at the end of the first quarter, Trinity responded with four second-quarter goals to take a 5-3 lead into halftime. Lily Acerra, Alex Lesko, Kelsey Restivo, Sarah Marvin, and Kaeley Zito each scored once in the opening half for the Bantams.

• Zito opened the third quarter with a free-position goal to extend Trinity's lead to 6-3. Franklin & Marshall answered behind Devyn Crone, who scored on a free-position attempt before adding a second goal later in the quarter off a feed from Alexandra Proefrock to trim the deficit to 6-5. Trinity responded when Zito found Acerra cutting through the eight-meter arc for the Bantams' seventh goal of the game.

• The Bantams took control in the fourth quarter, erupting for five unanswered goals to build a commanding 12-5 advantage with 6:42 remaining.

• Acerra capped a five-point performance with a hat trick and two assists, opening the quarter with a free-position score. Zito added two goals during the run, while Caroline Lally and Grace Denious each tallied player-up goals.

• The Diplomats added late scores from Sophie Harris and Myranda Beebe before the final whistle.

• Defensively, Emily Ambrozy led the Bantams with five caused turnovers and two draw controls, while senior Samantha Hark added four caused turnovers.

• Goalkeeper Alison MacDougall recorded 11 saves to help secure Trinity's spot in the NCAA Third Round.

Inside the Numbers

• Shots: Trinity 26 | Franklin & Marshall 21

• Turnovers: Trinity 11 | Franklin & Marshall 6

• Ground Balls: Trinity 26 | Franklin & Marshall 29

• Clears: Trinity 22-of-24 | Franklin & Marshall 16-of-19

• Free-Position Shots: Trinity 5-of-6 | Franklin & Marshall 1-of-2

Goalkeeping

• Trinity — Alison MacDougall (W, 11 saves, 7 goals allowed)

• Franklin & Marshall — Sara DiGiovanni (L, 6 saves, 12 goals allowed)

Up Next

The Bantams will face Pomona-Pitzer for the third time in program history, with the all-time series tied at 1-1 against the Sagehens. The two teams most recently met in Claremont, Calif. in March 2025, when Trinity suffered a 16-10 setback.

The first meeting between the programs came in the Round of 16 of the 2015 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship at Robin L. Sheppard Field, where the Bantams snapped Pomona-Pitzer's 10-game winning streak with a commanding 16-2 victory.

TRINITY ATHLETICS