HARTFORD, Conn. - Senior captains Caelin Flaherty (Upton, Mass.) and India Shay (Southborough, Mass.) scored the back-to-back goals in the third quarter to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 2-1 victory over the visiting Williams College Ephs in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship Quarterfinals this afternoon on Sheppard Field.  No. 4-seeded Trinity, which trailed, 1-0, just after halftime, improves to 12-4 and will play at top-seeded Middlebury next Saturday in the semifinal round.  No. 5-seeded Williams drops to 11-5 and clings to an outside chance at an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament next month.

Trailing, 1-0, in the third frame, Flaherty tied the contest with a great individual effort, advancing the ball down the left side on her own and shooting past Eph goalie Gates Tenerowicz on the first Bantam shot of the game with 10:42 on the clock.  At the 3:55 mark, Shay gave the Bantams the lead on the home team's only other shot of the game.  Trinity sophomore Jackie Frank (Longmeadow, Mass.) sent the ball toward the goal from near the top of the circle and it deflected to the left off a Williams stick where Shay dove and knocked it into the cage. Emily Batchelor took the only two shots of the fourth quarter, but both were stopped by Bantam sophomore goalie Olivia McMichael (Glenside, Pa.), including one on a backhand with three minutes left that she had to leap and knock the ball away with her glove.  McMichael finished with six saves, while neither Eph goalie had any stops.



The first half had featured a steady rain and very little offense, as the Ephs managed the only three shots on goal before the break.  Williams' Catherine Torres got a shot off from straight-on and 10 yards away but missed wide with five minutes left in the second quarter.  The visitors opened the scoring just 1:10 into the third quarter when Elizabeth Welch fed Shea van den Broek outside the circle and van den Broek knifed through the middle of the Bantam defense before flicking a shot past McMichael.  Williams nearly took a 2-0 lead moments later, but a shot by Torres of a penalty corner was stopped on a defensive save by senior captain Christine Taylor (Westport, Conn.).

"I love this team, they never give up.  They are young but gutsy and they have had a way of rising to the occasion," said Trinity Head Coach Anne Parmenter.  "Our defense has been playing well lately, just getting better every day, but we needed something to ignite us in the second half and Caelin's goal did that for us.  She is a game-changing player and that was a big goal to tie the game.  Shay's goal was a tremendous moment that she has earned through her hard work over four years. To beat Williams College twice in one year is an amazing accomplishment for this team.  They are a special group that pulls for each other as much as any team I have coached."