HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 17, 2019)  – Junior Kyra Bednarski netted her 10th hat trick of the season, but the Stevens Institute of Technology women's lacrosse team fell to No. 12 Trinity College in a non-conference game at the DeBaun Athletic Complex.

Freshman Natalie Fitzpatrick recorded a highlight reel goal in the second to join juniors Hannah Condren and Emily Shanklin in finding the back of the net for the Ducks, who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end. The contest marked the final non-conference game of the year for the Ducks, who fell to 6-8.

"We played incredibly hard tonight," said head coach Karen Shaddock. "I am happy with our performance. I am so proud of how much we have grown as a team."

Freshman Meredith Conlin and junior Brianne Salera each dished out an assist to round out Stevens' scoring. The second-half assist was Conlin's first collegiate point.

Kendall Milligan registered a pair of goals and three assists and Liliana Khosrowshahi and Ellie Kirkpatrick each collected two goals and two assists for the Bantams, who snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to 9-4. Trinity improved to 6-0 all-time against Stevens,

Sophomore Peyton Taylor drew the start in the cage and made eight saves. The Phillipsburg, New Jersey native has stopped five or more shots on six different occasions. Addison Newsome started for Trinity and made five saves to earn her first career victory. Gabriella Young relieved Newsome in the second half and made one save, while allowing three goals.

"Our defense played extremely well, and as a unit, they were able to cause a lot of turnovers," Shaddock offered. "Peyton came up big for us in the cage several times and Sam did a great job for us in the second half."

"Meredith had a few really key plays for us tonight, including her assist to Natalie on the offensive end" Shaddock added.

Stevens came out firing on its opening possession. Freshman Morgan Westerby won the game's opening draw control and joined Salera in earning quality scoring chances that Newsome turned aside. The Ducks finally found the back of the net on its third attempt, with Shanklin breaking through for her 29th tally of the season. The goal gave Stevens its first lead over a nationally-ranked opponent this season.

The one-goal margin held up over the next 10 minutes thanks to a spirited defensive effort that forced Trinity away from the shooting lanes. The Bantams took a few off-angled shots and shots that did find their way through the defense were knocked aside by Taylor. Olivia Weckwerth broke through 12:49 into the opening half with her 11th marker of the season.

Defense continued to be the story of the game with teams taking turns at disrupting the other's offensive consistency. Bednarski put the home team in front for the second time on a free-position attempt for her 52nd goal of the year. The Syracuse, New York native continues to lead the Empire 8 conference in scoring.

Mary French had the equalizer for Trinity and consecutive goals by Sophie Berger and a goal from Annie Lyman gave the Bantams a three-score advantage at the intermission.

Bednarski opened second-half scoring before Trinity appeared to pull away with four straight goals, before Stevens rallied midway through the period. Condren began the rally with her 14th of the year and the Ducks pulled within five when Fitzpatrick energized the crowd with a spectacular goal that just beat the shot cock for her 10th career goal.

Conlin began the play by saving a turnover in the waning seconds of the possession clock, deftly avoiding an offsides penalty. The first-year defender entered the attacking third and found Fitzpatrick, who received the pass and uncorked a shot that beat Young and energized both the Stevens bench and the fans in attendance.

"Just like coach drew it up," Fitzpatrick joked after the game.

Trinity stifled the Stevens comeback bid, working the ball, and the clock, for the next three minutes. Kirkpatrick ended the long offensive sequence with her seventh of the season and then scored 13 seconds later to reclaim a six-goal lead for the guests. Trinity would go on to score the next four goals to provide the final margin.

Trinity outshot Stevens 32-17 on the evening and doubled the Ducks' output in shots on net 24-12. Bednarski led all players with eight shots and six shots on goal. Khosrowshahi paced the Bantams with seven attempts and joined Berger in registering five shots on goal.

The teams combined for 50 turnovers, with the teams totaling 25 miscues in each half. Trinity's Anna Costello led all players with four caused turnovers, while freshman Morgan Westerby joined Taylor in forcing three turnovers. 

Shanklin earned six draw controls to help Stevens total 16 draws on the evening, against only six for Trinity. Westerby totaled four draws, while sophomore Haley Hanrahan earned two. Conlin, Condren, sophomore Tori Bruce and freshman Sam Gajda each collected one to round out Stevens' efforts. Sarah Montalbano earned three to pace Trinity.

"Haley, Emily and Morgan were outstanding on the draw again, which gave us a lot of possessions with the ball," Shaddock said.

Trinity outearned Stevens in ground balls, 31-21. The Bantams' Jen Durocher scooped up a game-high seven, while Conlin topped Stevens with four.

Each team netted a pair of goals on free-position attempts. Condren and Bednarski accounted for Stevens' free-position goals, while Milligan registered both of Trinity's. 

Stevens successfully converted its lone powerplay opportunity of the day, when Bednarski beat Newsome just before Samantha Booma's penalty expired. The Ducks committed two penalties, which led to a pair of Trinity goals.

Each team was successful on 18 of their 22 clearing attempts.

Up Next: Women's Lacrosse heads to Pittsford, New York for an important Empire 8 Conference matchup with No. 13 St. John Fisher College. The Cardinals lead the all-time series 11-7, although the teams have alternated wins and losses over the last seven meetings. Live stats and video links are available on StevensDucks.com.

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