Hartford, Conn. -
Karyn Barrett (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) scored and assisted sophomore
Abbey Lake (Westport, Conn.) to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 2-1 victory over the visiting Amherst College Lord Jeffs in the opening round of the 2013 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship Tournament in women's soccer action this afternoon. Trinity improves to 12-3 on the season, setting a mark for most wins in program history while notching their first-ever NESCAC Championship Tournament win. Amherst, ranked No. 19 in the nation, ends its season with a 9-3-3 record.
The Lord Jeffs opened the game by applying consistent pressure on the offensive end. Amherst capitalized on their early opportunities when senior Sarah Duffy (Fairfield, Conn.) struck the ball from the far right side of the field and placed it perfectly into the top left corner of the Trinity net to put her team on top, 1-0. In the later stages of the opening half, sophomore
Julia Leahy (Hingham, Mass.) found Barrett wide open in front of the Amherst goal, setting up Barrett for the game-tying score.
It didn't take long into the second half for Trinity to gain the lead, when Barrett set Lake up for what would turn out to be the game-winning goal, just over three minutes into the half, to the satisfaction of the home crowd. The goal was Lake's eighth of the season, a team high.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Monica DiFiori (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) had another strong game in net, making five saves for Trinity. Sophomore Holly Burwick (New Canaan, Conn.) finished the game with six saves in net for the Lord Jeffs.
Amherst lost just two of their last ten games, after consecutive one-goal losses to Trinity to end the season for the Lord Jeffs. Amherst won the NESCAC Tournament in 2001, 2003, and 2011. The win is Trinity's third straight, as the Bantams head into the NESCAC Championship Tournament Semifinal Round. Trinity will face Williams at Middlebury next Sat., Nov. 9 at 1:30 p.m. Trinity shut out Williams, 2-0, earlier this season, on Sept. 14. No. 2-seed Williams topped Wesleyan, 3-1, in their opening round game today.
