Box Score Hartford, Conn. – First-year forward Taylor Kirchgessner (Bethesda, Md.) scored the game-winning goal in the 35th minute to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 2-1 victory over the visiting Bates College Bobcats in in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Women's Soccer Championship Quarterfinals this afternoon. Trinity, seeded No. 4 in the tournament and ranked No. 5 in New England, improves to 11-5 and will play in the NESCAC Final Four for the second time against an opponent to be determined next weekend.
With the game knotted at 1-1, Kirchgessner converted on the second assist of the day by junior midfielder Laura Nee (Duxbury, Mass.), and the score remained the same for the rest of the contest despite several more chances for both squads and a combined 27 shots in the second half. Bates had gotten on the scoreboard first in the seventh minute when rookie back Sarah Gutch (Gaithersburg, Md.) sent a bouncing shot from 30 yards away in front to the lower left corner of the goal after the Trinity defense had knocked a corner kick out of the box.
Watch the game-winning goal by Taylor Kirchgessner
Trinity nearly tied it in the 33rd minute when junior midfielder Nicole Stauffer (Cheshire, Conn.) was tackled in the box but missed high with her penalty kick. The Bantams did answer when Kirchgessner sent the ball into the box, and Nee managed to scoot it over to first-year midfielder Caroline McKenna in traffic in front of the goal. McKenna quickly booted the ball home, and Trinity took a 2-1 lead 14:46 into the contest. Bantam sophomore back Sarah Connors (Winnetka, Ill.) was stopped at point-blank range by Bates sophomore goalie Sarah McCarthy (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) in the 38th minute.
McCarthy and Trinity senior tri-captain goalkeeper Monica DiFiori (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) totaled 14 saves between them in the scoreless second half. McCarthy denied a header off a corner by Trinity junior back Sheena Landy (Durham, Conn.) in the 52nd minute, hard shots from the right and left wings, respectively, by Stauffer and sophomore back Alexa Barbaresi (Newport Beach, Calif.) later in the second half, and a one-on-one opportunity by Nee in the 78th minute to keep the Bobcats within one goal. Barbaresi slid to stop a clear shot by senior Maggie Coco (Avon, Conn.) on the right wing in the 81st minute. McCarthy finished with 12 saves and DiFiori had five of her six after the break.
