Medford, Mass. - Trinity College senior captain forward Caroline Snite (Philadelphia, Pa.) scored on a rebound with 6:59 remaining in the second overtime to give the No. 5-seeded Bantams a dramatic 2-1 victory at No. 4-seeded Tufts in the quarterfinal round of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Field Hockey Championship Tournament this afternoon at Bello Field.  Trinity, ranked No. 16 in the nation, improves to 11-4 with its second win in a row and advances to its fourth consecutive NESCAC Semifinals next weekend.  The Bantams will play the host Bowdoin College Polar Bears in the league semifinals on Saturday, and the winner will face either Amherst or Middlebury the next day.  Tufts, ranked No. 13 nationally, is now 11-4 and hopes to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

After making a stop in her defensive end, Snite sent first-year teammate Courtney Wynne (Darien, Conn.) on a break-away into the Tufts zone. Wynne's shot hit the post, but Snite had hustled downfield and dove to poke in the rebound. The Bantams had nearly ended it in the first overtime when Wynne and junior Hadley Duncan (Rye, N.Y.) had a two-on-one, but could not connect for a shot.

In the first half, Tufts had early pressure after a corner. Shots by co-captain Taylor Dyer (Windham, N.H.) and junior Rachel Gerhardt (Worcester, Mass.) were saved by Trinity senior captain goalie Gina Dinallo (West Hartford, Conn). At the other end, Dyer made a defensive save on a shot off a corner by Trinity junior midfielder Haley Thompson (Ipswich, Mass.).

Trinity scored first on a goal by Duncan assisted by sophomore midfielder Julia Rivera (Silver Spring, Md.) with 7:06 remaining until halftime. They held the lead until intermission. The Jumbos had advantages of 11-4 in shots and 7-2 in penalty corners during the first 35, but Dinallo made three saves to help the visitors to a halftime lead.

After the Bantams had the first shot on goal of the second half, the Jumbos maintained possession for a stretch and tied the game. On a corner attempt, junior Kelsey Perkins (Barrington, R.I.) tipped a strike by classmate Rachel Gerhardt (Worcester, Mass.) into the air and into the goal with 23:10 on the clock.  The Jumbos outshot Trinity, 6-3, in the second half and earned a 6-1 margin in corners, but couldn't capitalize and the game went to overtime. The regular-season meeting between the teams on October 2 also went to overtime, with Dyer deciding a 3-2 Tufts win on a penalty stroke.  Tufts had 20 shots to Trinity's 10 and 15 corners to the Bantams' four. Dinallo finished with six saves and Jumbo senior Marianna Zak (Concord, Mass.) had three.

box score