Middletown, Conn. – Junior forward Leigh Howard (Bethany, Conn.) scored the game-tying goal and fed freshman Shea Kusiak (Longmeadow, Mass.) on the gamewinner in the 80th minute to lead the visiting Trinity College Bantams to a 2-1 win over the Wesleyan University Cardinals in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) women's soccer action this afternoon.  Trinity, ranked No. 10 in New England, remains without a loss at 4-0-1 overall and 3-0-1 in the NESCAC, while the Cardinals fall to 1-2-3 overall and 0-1-3 in the league.

With 9:48 remaining in regular play, Howard sent a pass into the box as Kusiak and Wesleyan keeper Clare Colton (Montclair, N.J.) raced to the ball. Kusiak got there first and had a shot at an open net with Colton out of position, easily scoring her first career goal.  Wesleyan had jumped on the board just 21 seconds into the game as Laura Kurash (Voorhees, N.J.) was fouled in the box and awarded a penalty kick. Kurash's kick sailed into the lower-left corner of the goal.  The tally was the first allowed by Trinity all year, as the Bantams had outscored their first four opponents by a combined score of 7-0.  Trinity answered just 1:05 later, as Howard's soft shot from the top of the box went right at Colton and bounced off her hands before trickling into the net at 1:26. 

Although neither team found the back of the net for the next 79 minutes, both squads had their opportunities. In the 20th minute, Wesleyan senior Kaitlin Ashley (New Canaan, Conn.) fired a high shot from the left side of the box, but Trinity keeper Emily Weedon (Wellesley, Mass.) leaped to her left and deflecting it away. In the 38th minute, Wesleyan's Hillary Biggs (West Newbury, Mass.) fired a hard shot from the top of the box that just sailed over the crossbar.  Trinity had a pair of chances of its own in the second half. 14 minutes into the period, junior Jenny Ley (Warwick, R.I.) found Howard standing all alone in front of the goal, but Howard's low shot was stopped by a diving Colton at the left post. Trinity also had a dangerous opportunity in the 80th minute, as a Wesleyan foul gave the Bantams a free kick from 20 yards out, but sophomore Stefanie Griglak's (San Diego, Calif.) shot sailed to the right of the goal.  Wesleyan's most dangerous opportunity of the second half came in the 79th minute. Junior Emma Nitzberg (Summit, N.J.) corralled a loose ball and shot it at an open net, but a Trinity defender raced in to block the shot at the goal line. The rebound went to freshman Kerry Doyle (North Haven, Conn.), whose shot was stopped by the keeper Weedon.

Weedon and junior Lily Pepper (Princeton Junction, N.J.) combined for six saves in the Trinity net, while Colton had three stops for Wesleyan. Trinity held a 12-11 edge in shots, but Wesleyan led in corners, 7-5, including a 5-1 edge in the first half.  Trinity now leads the all-time series between the two schools 18-10-5, but Wesleyan had won the previous two meetings and three of the past four. Trinity had not won in Middletown in regulation since 1998, a span of six games.

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