Hartford, Conn. - Two goals less than five minutes apart in the first half was all the Trinity College men's soccer team needed to take down the visiting Bates Bobcats, 2-0, on Saturday afternoon in Hartford. Trinity improves to 3-4 overall and picks up its first New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) victory of the season while Bates falls to 3-4-2 on the year and 1-4-1 in conference action.

Trinity senior goalie Domenic Quade (Norwood, Mass.) earned his first clean slate of the season in a clutch performance as he made seven saves on the afternoon behind a stout Trinity defense that pestered the Bates offense from the get-go. Both teams were evenly matched on the shot chart however Trinity earned seven corner kicks in the game compared to just two by Bates.

No corner kick proved more important than the one that came in the 29th minute in the first half off the foot of senior captain Tobias Gimand (Copenhagen, Denmark). Gimand planted his left foot and booted the corner high into the box that connected with the head of sophomore Alex Steel (Weston, Mass.) and re-directed into the back of the net, past the outstretched arm of Bates goalie Robbie Montanaro (Belmont, Mass.) to give the Bantams a 1-0 lead. Less than three minutes later, Trinity was awarded a free kick from about 15 yards from midfield, in the Bobcats defensive half, that sophomore William Baker (Los Angeles, Calif.) lined up to take. Baker sent a long ball towards the box that found junior Sam Ganeles (Armonk, N.Y.) who buried it past Montanaro to put Trinity up 2-0.

Bates did not go down without a fight in the second half as the Bobcats outshot Trinity, 8-6, in the second session. Despite the pressure, a combination of gritty defense by the Bantams and strong play from Quade kept the Bobcats off the board. Quade capped off his afternoon in a big way during the 87th minute after Trinity was whistled for a foul in their own box which gave Bates a penalty kick. Nate Merchant (Los Angeles, Calif.) lined up over the ball for the Bobcats and blasted the ball on target, but right into the waiting arms of Quade for his seventh and final save of the day, as Trinity celebrated the shutout shortly thereafter.

The Bantams return to action tomorrow as they travel down the road to in-state rival Wesleyan for a 1 p.m. game.