Box Score Hartford, Conn. – Sophomore forward Abbey Lake (Westport, Conn.) assisted rookie Andi Nicholson (Grafton, Mass.) on the game-winning goal and scored the game's only other goal, while classmate Monica DiFiori (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) recorded a shutout with five saves to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a season-opening 2-0 victory over the visiting Hamilton College Continentals in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) women's soccer action this afternoon. Trinity avenges a 2-1 overtime loss at Hamilton in last season's opener, while the Continentals fall to 1-1 overall and 0-1 in the league.
Lake sent a pass ahead to Nicholson that nicked off a Hamilton defender on its way to Nicholson who shot high and left from the right side of the box past Continental senior goalkeeper Liza Gergenti (Warwick, N.Y.) with 6:58 left in the first half. Trinity had two close chances to extend its lead early in the second half.
Gergenti saved a point-blank shot in the 63rd minute by Trinity junior tri-captain midfielder Elisa Dolan (Bethesda, Md.) and Bantam sophomore Alexa Menard (Wallingford, Conn.) shot the rebound just wide with a low shot while her facing away from the goal. Lake was similarly denied by Gergenti just over three minutes later, and rookie midfielder Laura Nee (Duxbury, Mass.) put her rebound attempt just over the cross bar. Lake blasted the ball over Gergenti's outstretched hand and into the net less than a minute later from 35 yards away off a pass by classmate Kelsey Thomas (Stonington, Conn.) to give Trinity its insurance goal.
DiFiori came out to stop Continental freshman forward Ali Clarke (Evergreen, Colo.) on a one-on-one while Trinity held a 1-0 lead early in the second stanza, and knocked away a pair of second-half corner kicks in front of her net to help preserve the shutout. A third Trinity goal, scored by Menard, was negated in the 80th minute due to an offsides call. Hamilton finished with a 5-to-1 edge on corner kicks, while Trinity outshot the Continentals, 12-10.
