Bantams Clinch Home Playoff Game, Team And Coach Reach Victory Milestones

Hartford, Conn. - Junior tri-captain midfielder Elisa Dolan (Bethesda, Md.) scored the game's only goal in the 61st minute from classmate Karyn Barrett (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) and the Trinity College defense held the Amherst College offense without a single shot on goal, as the Bantams closed the 2013 regular season with a 1-0 victory over the visiting Lord Jeffs in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) women's soccer action this afternoon.  Trinity, ranked No. 5 in New England, finishes its regular campaign at 11-3 and will host the Lord Jeffs on Saturday, November 2 at noon in a NESCAC Championship Quarterfinal game.  Amherst, ranked No. 3 in New England and No. 19 nationally, ends its regular season with a 9-2-3 record.  Trinity wins its second game in a row to earn fourth place in the league standings at 7-3 and the No. 4 seed in the eight-team NESCAC Tournament.  Amherst, 5-2-3 in NESCAC play, loses for the first time in nine games, taking to the No. 5 seed.  The win gives the Trinity program 200 wins in its history and was the 100th in the career of Trinity Head Coach Mike Smith.

Trinity dominated play from beginning to end, outshooting Amherst, 15-6 and, 15-3, over the first 80 minutes, and winning the majority of balls in the air throughout the contest.  Trinity threatened early with successive corner kicks in the 11th minute, and the third try resulted in a high shot off the cross bar by Barrett.  Amherst's closest chance of the first half came late in the first half when senior forward Amanda Brisco (Houston, Texas) got past the Trinity defense but shot over the goal.  With under two minutes remaining before the break, Dolan placed a corner kick perfectly in front of the far post, and first-year midfielder Kendra Lena (Madison, Conn.) one-timed the ball off the post.  Two Bantam shots from inside the box were subsequently deflected by Amherst defenders, and Trinity sophomore back Kelsey Thomas (Stonington, Conn.) ended up with ball but shot just wide of the goal from 20 yards away.

At 61:51, Barrett sent a pass from the left sideline to a streaking Dolan in the middle of the box, and Dolan outdueled her defender for the ball and shot past Amherst goalie Holly Burwick (New Canaan, Conn.) for her fifth goal of the fall.  Trinity had a couple of chances to double its lead, as Bantam sophomore Abbey Lake (Westport, Conn.) sent a hard shot just wide in the 66th minute and rookie forward Andi Nicholson (Grafton, Mass.) received a pass by sophomore forward Alexa Menard (Wallingford, Conn.) and shot wide from point-blank range with 13 minutes left to play. 

Brisco nearly tied it for the visitors with under 10 minutes on the clock with a blast from close on the right flank, but the shot was blocked short of the goal by Trinity junior back Maggie Crowe (Lowell, Mass.).  Sophomore goalie Monica DiFiori (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and the Bantam defense withstood increased pressure, including three corner kicks and two hard but off-the-mark shots by Sarah Zuckerman, from Amherst over the final 10 minutes.  Amherst stayed alive when Burwick stopped Nicholson at the top of the box one-on-one after Nicholson had gotten past her defender with the ball with three minutes left, but Amherst did not threaten the rest of the way.