NEW LONDON, Conn. -- The Connecticut College women's lacrosse team came up short against No. 12 Trinity on Wednesday night at Silfen Field. The Bantams played a strong second half en route to a 15-8 victory over the Camels. 

The duo of Molly McGuckin and Lily Ives combined for eight goals to lead the visitors to their third NESCAC win of the year. The nationally-ranked Bantams have now won five of their last six contests. 

First year Kate Coughlin (Reading, Mass.) paced the hosts with a game-high five points, including four tallies. With the loss, the Camels drop to 4-5 overall on the season.

The two teams played to a back-and-forth tie in the opening quarter. Just 34 seconds in, Aine Downey (Brookline, Mass.) delivered a beautiful feed to Elizabeth Gill (Hingham, Mass.) who converted on the run to give Conn the early 1-0 lead. Following a Trinity score three minutes later, the Camels responded with back-to-back goals from Coughlin to increase the advantage to 3-1.

But that would be the last time that the hosts held the lead as the Bantams wrapped up the first stanza with free-position goals from McGuckin and Natalie Miller. The two teams would enter the second quarter deadlocked at three goals a piece.

Trinity built upon the momentum at the end of the first to score two consecutive goals to open the second to take a 5-3 lead. However, the Camels responded with a pair of tallies. First, Coughlin completed the first half hat trick with her third score. Then, the first year played the role of facilitator, taking the ball from behind the net and delivering a crisp pass to teammate Julianna Ingrassia (Garden City, N.Y.) who found the back of the net on her attempt to tie the score at five. 

But the Bantams would not allow the Camels to gain any sort of advantage. The visitors finished the first half with consecutive scores from McGuckin, Ives, and Miller to extend the lead to 8-5 heading into the halftime intermission.

Trinity continued to apply offensive pressure in the second half, outscoring the Camels 7-3 in the remaining two quarters. The visitors also turned it up on the defensive end, forcing 10 Conn turnovers. 

First year Campbell Johnston (Duxbury, Mass.) scored a pair of second half goals and Coughlin added her final tally of the night to complete the scoring line for Conn. As the final horn sounded, Trinity earned the 15-8 victory to go over .500 in conference games.

The Bantams capitalized on free-position attempts throughout the game, converting on 10-of-16 from the eight-meter mark. 

Both goaltenders played well, making several tough saves. Alyssa Vitale earned the win for Trinity, stopping nine shots. Violette Nidds (Ridgewood, N.J.) made eight saves between the pipes for the Camels. Conn defender Brooke McKenna (Ridgewood, N.J.) recorded a game-high three ground balls.

Connecticut College (3-4 overall, 0-4 NESCAC) will be back in action on Saturday, April, 8 on the road at No. 5 Tufts.