Middlebury, Vt. – The visiting Trinity College Bantams scored three second half goals to pick up a 3-2 victory over the Middlebury College Panthers in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship Quarterfinal action this afternoon on Kohn Field. The No. 6-seeded Bantams improve to 9-6 and advance to next weekend's semifinals at Tufts, where they will take on the host school at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. No. 3-seeded Middlebury drops to 11-4 and hopes for an NCAA bid when selections are announced on November 7. The Panthers also see their winning streak snapped at nine game.
The game was very similar to the regular season match-up between the schools on September 18, when Middlebury picked up a 4-3 win overtime. The Panthers led, 3-1, in that contest before the Bantams tied the game and forced it into the extra session. Middlebury struck first today, scoring the only goal of the first half at the 13:44 mark. Lauren Greer put in her own rebound to earn her 16th of the season to make it a 1-0 game.
Trinity tied the game on a penalty corner just 3:02 into the second half, when sophomore forward Alanna Capasso (Weston, Mass.) injected the ball to senior co-captain forward Christy Bradley (Wellesley, Mass.), who set it for a blast from fellow senior co-captain Robyn Williams (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) that found the back of the cage. The game remained tied until three goals were scored in a 2:17 span. The Bantams took their first lead of the contest at 58:16, when junior Payson Sword (Princeton, N.J.) scored from the right side after a flurry. Middlebury answered just over a minute later when Greer converted a penalty corner play. Clara St. Germain injected to Magaret Souther, who set up Greer's blast to knot the game at 2-2. Just 1:26 later, Trinity scored the eventual game winner, with junior forward Caroline Snite (Philadelphia, Pa.) tallying after a Middlebury defender broke up a pass that left here with an open shot from 12 yards out.
Middlebury ended the game with a pair of penalty corners with no time on the clock, but could not net the equalizer. Trinity junior Gina Dinallo (West Hartford, Conn.) made three saves in goal to earn the win, while Becca Shaw suffered her first loss of the season (7-1), making four saves.
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