Hartford, Conn. – First-year goaltender Sydney Belinskas (Port Orange, Fla.) recorded her conference-leading sixth shutout of the season to lead the third-seeded Trinity College women's hockey team past sixth-seeded Williams, 1-0, on Saturday afternoon in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship Tournament Quarterfinals on Williams Rink.

The Bantams improve to 16-6-2 on the year with the victory and advance to next weekend's NESCAC Semifinals, while the Ephs end their campaign with a 9-13-3 overall record. The win was the fifth in program history in the NESCAC Quarterfinals for Trinity as they advance to the conference final four for the first time since 2012.

The lone goal in the contest came with under a minute remaining in the opening period as Trinity stole momentum away from the Williams. The Ephs had a scoring opportunity on the doorstep as Belinskas made a point-blank save on a shot from Sara Lehman. Trinity junior forward Emma Tani (Orange, Calif.) corralled the puck and took it the length of the ice as she fired a shot that found the back of the net. Tani skated up along the right boards and beat Williams netminder Christina Cleroux with just 11 seconds left in the first.

In the final two periods neither team was able to breakthrough as both goaltenders made key saves on either end.

After being outshot, 12-6, in the first, Trinity bounced back to hold a 14-11 advantage in shots in the second. The best scoring chance in the middle frame came for Trinity on an odd-man rush. Bantam junior Shannon Farrell (Kennebunk, Maine) and linemate Kelcie Finn (Weymouth, Mass.)  skated in on a 2-on-1 and Cleroux gloved Farrell's shot from just inside the right circle.

In the third period, Belinskas stopped 14 shots and the Bantams killed off three penalties to escape victorious. 90 seconds into the stanza, Ephs first-year forward Kearan Burke skated in on the left side of the ice and fired a shot that deflected off Belinska's right pad and then the post before being cleared by Trinity. Williams kept the pressure on as five minutes later on the power play junior Talia Simon blasted a shot from the point that Belinskas acrobatically gloved out of the air.

Down the stretch, the visitors pulled Cleroux with just under two minutes remaining in regulation in favor of an extra skater. Both Tani and linemate Lucy Robinson (Toronto, Ontario) had chances on the empty for Trinity, but neither was able to convert. With under a minute remaining, Belinskas stopped a backhand in front of the net and the defense held their ground as the Bantams moved on.

In total, Belinskas made 37 saves to earn her 11th victory of the winter for the Bantams. On the opposite end, Cleroux turned aside 24 shots in a losing effort for Williams. On special team, Trinity went 0-for-2 on the power play, while the Ephs failed to convert on any of their four power-play opportunities.

Next weekend, Mar. 7-8, Trinity will travel to Middlebury for the NESCAC Semifinals. The Bantams opponent will be determined by the result of the two remaining quarterfinal contests.

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