Sophomore netminder Linda McEvoy posted eight second half saves for Amherst.

Seventh-Ranked Jeffs Trip Up Trinity, 8-5

April 5, 2006

HARTFORD, CT – Sophomore goaltender Linda McEvoy (Rochester, NY) posted eight of her nine saves in the second half, including three free position stops in the last two minutes, to lead Amherst College to an 8-5 NESCAC women’s lacrosse victory over Trinity College on Wednesday. Juniors Lauren Dudley (Baltimore, MD) and Alyssa Briody (Hopewell, NJ) and rookie Mary Noonan (W. Roxbury, MA) each notched a pair of goals to lead the Amherst offensive effort. The Jeffs pick up their first conference win of the season (1-1) and move to 4-1 overall, while Trinity falls to 4-4 (1-2 NESCAC).

Bantam senior quad-captain Christine Ryan opened scoring at 26:43, but Trinity’s only lead of the game would last just 17 seconds, as Noonan knotted the score on the next possession, and Briody put Amherst ahead, dodging four Bantam defenders and firing a bouncer at 21:21. Superb defense kept control in Amherst’s offensive third for most of the first half, as the Jeffs, led by senior Margaret Chute (Pawtucket, RI) and junior Maggie Roth (Berwyn, PA), came up with a number of defensive stops and met with precious little midfield pressure clearing the ball up the field. First-year Amy Craig (Denver, CO) snatched a clear from McEvoy near the 20-minute mark, sprinted up the field and fed junior Liz Wise (Scarsdale, NY) to add the Amherst’s edge. Trinity sophomore C.J. Yanofsky slipped a goal in on a left side crease roll at 15:47, cutting the lead to one, 3-2. Dudley netted two scores just over a minute apart, the first a sweet jam through traffic and the second a left-handed roll that beat Trinity’s Michelle Smith, to give the Jeffs a 5-2 lead entering the break.

Noonan again had an answer for an early Trinity score, posting her second goal of the game at 20:44, 48 seconds after senior Katie Neil got one for the Bantams. Briody notched the second of her pair, taking on defenders from the top of the 12 at 15:29. Amherst kept Trinity scoreless for a 10-minute possession, coming up with countless stick checks, double teams and saves from McEvoy, but were unable to seize control until Noonan grabbed an interception just outside the crease near the four-minute mark. The Jeffs tried to run out the clock, but Trinity had one more, a free position shot from Yanofsky. Craig intercepted a goalie clear and punished the mistake with a score from the right side at 2:35 to up the lead back to three. McEvoy was a wall in the waning minutes, denying the upset-minded Bantams time and time again.

Amherst returns to action on Saturday at NESCAC and Little Three rival Wesleyan University at 11 a.m.

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