Middletown, Conn. - The visiting Trinity College Bantams saw their women's soccer season come to a premature close this afternoon with a heartwrenching 2-1 loss to the New England Small College Ahtletic Conference (NESCAC) rival Wesleyan University Cardinals.  The Bantams close the year at 5-7-2 overall and 2-6-2 in the NESCAC which ensures the Bantams a ninth-place finish or worse in the league standings and eliminates their chances for post-season play.  Wesleyan finishes its regular season with a 9-5 mark and a 5-5 league record, and the Cardinals will face Tufts in a NESCAC Quarterfinal game either in Middletown or Medford, Mass. depending on the result of the Tufts/Bowdoin game tomorrow afternoon.

Cardinal sophomore Kerry Doyle scored twice in the final 10 minutes, with the game-winner coming in the 87th minute.  Trinity had taken the lead in the 23rd minute and held a 1-0 advantage for about 58 minutes before Doyle evened the count at 1-1 with 9:13 left in the second half.  The Bantams took advantage of a misplay by the Wesleyan defense to grab a 1-0 lead at 22:15 of the opening half, sending the ball into the box to the right side. An attempt by a Wesleyan defender to clear the ball resulted in a loose ball to the left side where Trinity senior co-captain forward Jenny Ley (warwick, R.I.) controlled possession and found the back of the net to the right. 

Cardinal junior Laura Kurash started the play with a push pass to senior Barrie Lindsay, who sent a through-pass behind the Trinity defense.  Doyle got to the ball first and immediately sent a rolling ball past Bantam senior goalie Lily Pepper (Princeton Junction, N.J.) into the back right corner of the net.  Seven minutes later, Doyle challenged a Trinity defender on a clearing kick and redirected it toward the Trinity net outside the box.  The ball spun back to Doyle behind the defense and before Pepper could make a late charge to the ball, Doyle lofted a bounding ball slowly into the net from 16 yards away.  

Midway through the second half, Trinity had a great opportunity to up its margin to 2-0 but Wesleyan freshman keeper Jessica Tollman came up with three stops in short order to keep it a one-goal game.  In the final minute, Tollman, who finished with six saves, made two more stops after a Bantam corner kick to the middle of the box brought about a header by Trinity senior co-captain forward Leigh Howard (Bethany, Conn.) and a sharp, left-footed final shot by senior forward Katie Giberson (Vlahalla, N.Y.) to the right post.  Pepper had two saves for Trinity as the Bantams outshot the Cardinals, 15-10, in the contest.

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