Colby Women’s Lacrosse celebrated its senior day with a 12–11 win over Trinity College in a game that was not decided until the final seconds. Prior to the game, the team acknowledged the careers of five graduating seniors: Gianna Bruno `23, Jill Mazzocca `23, Elizabeth Hennessey `23, Annie Eddy `23, and Kailey O’Neill `23. The members of the Class of 2023 have led the team to great successes on the field across their four seasons, most notably a pair of NCAA tournament wins a season ago.
On Saturday, Apr. 22, the Mules faced off against the Trinity Bantams in a crucial game for NESCAC positioning as the regular season came to a close. The two sides entered the contest with identical 5–3 records in NESCAC play, and the winner stood to take control of fourth place in the conference.
The Bantams opened the scoring at 14:46 of the first quarter behind Lily Ives’ fortieth goal of the season before Colby’s Paige Saudek `26 tied the game with an unassisted strike minutes later. Bruno scored for the Mules seconds later off of an assist from Hennessey, who followed with a goal of her own, bringing the score to 3–1. Trinity responded with a player-up goal from Molly McGluckin and added two more tallies from Natalie Miller and Grace Denius. The Mules added two of their own from Cami McDonald `24 and Ally Franz `24, taking a 5–4 lead into the halftime intermission.
Saudek opened the scoring in the second half with her twenty-seventh goal of the season and second unassisted strike of the day. Trinity wasn’t out of the game, however, and stormed back into the lead with three straight goals from Caroline Lampert, Casey Ward, and Molly McGuckin. The Mules stepped up and answered with their own run of four goals, scored by Saudek, Bruno, Eddy, and Ainsley Dion `25. The Mules led 10–7 entering the fourth quarter, but Trinity refused to quit, cutting the lead to just a single goal, as Ives and Lampert each found the back of the net. Colby afforded themselves a bit of breathing room with another Franz goal, but the Bantams responded promptly, scoring on a player-up opportunity.
With just under two minutes remaining in the contest, Bruno scored a player-up goal of her own to restore Colby’s two-goal lead. The Bantams refused to relent, cutting the deficit back to a goal with twenty seconds remaining in the game. The Bantams won the draw to restart play and immediately attacked the Colby net, ultimately earning a free position shot with only a second to play. Colby goaltender Sarah Hearns `24 met the challenge, saving Elle Fair’s shot, preserving the Mules’ win, and securing home-field advantage in the first round of the NESCAC tournament.
The Mules close their regular season with a home matchup against Bates on Apr. 26 and await confirmation of their first-round opponent in the NESCAC tournament, with that game scheduled for Apr. 29.
~ Matt Quealey `26
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