HARTFORD, Conn. – The Union College women's lacrosse team went into halftime tied at four with IWLCA #21 Trinity (Conn.) College, but the Bantams outscored the Garnet Chargers 7-2 after halftime to pull away for an 11-6 victory in Union's 2026 season-opener on Wednesday evening at Robin L. Sheppard Field.
 
Junior Maddy Schiller led Union (0-1) with three goals and senior Lana Mickelson added a goal and an assist, while three teammates also had a goal apiece, including the first collegiate tally for first-year Sami Bonasia. At the other end, junior Anna Dembowski led the defensive effort with a team-best four ground balls and two caused turnovers, followed by sophomore Maddie Dineen with three grounders.
 
The teams had trouble getting going early in the contest, combining for nine turnovers and only two shots on goal over the first eight minutes. But the Bantams had the first surge of the evening, scoring three goals in less than a minute to take a 3-0 lead with 4:56 left in the first. Schiller broke the ice for Union with 1:52 left in the opening frame with a free-position tally to finish off the first-period scoring.
 
The Union defense forced six turnovers and held Trinity off the scoreboard for over 12 minutes to start the second stanza, while the offense scored three times to take its first lead of the game. Mickelson made it a 3-2 game 2:01 into the period and Bonasia evened the score with 5:43 left with her first collegiate goal, followed by an eight-meter strike from senior Christina Guanci to put the visitors in front. The Bantams got a goal back from the free-position arc later in the period to even the score at four after 30 minutes.
 
The tide turned in the third quarter, as Trinity scored four unanswered goals to take an 8-4 lead. The Bantams increased their run to six straight tallies with the first goal of the fourth period before Schiller scored twice in 44 seconds to get the deficit back down to three (9-6) with 5:57 left; however, the home team scored the game's final two goals to finish off the scoring.
 
Senior Sydney Widlitz made eight saves for Union on the evening, while Trinity's Alison MacDougall turned aside 10 shots. Trinity finished the night with a 27-21 edge in shots.
 
Union will return to action on Saturday, when the Garnet Chargers host Massachusetts Institute of Technology in their 2026 home opener beginning at noon at Frank Bailey Field at Bertagna-Class of 1985 Stadium.