HARTFORD, Conn. - Abby Birk scored the game's only goal 5:43 into the second half to lead the Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays to a 1-0 victory over the Trinity College Bantams in the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship Tournament on Sheppard Field.  Trinity, hosting the NCAA Division III Final Four for the first time, sees its fantastic run through the tournament come to an end with a tough loss, while technically the visiting team, in front of 1,500 or so fans on its own field.  Johns Hopkins remains perfect with a 22-0 record and will face undefeated Middlebury (21-0) in the finals tomorrow at 1 p.m. on Sheppard Field.  Middlebury defeated Rowan, 4-1, in the other semifinal at Trinity earlier today.  Trinity ends the year at 15-6.  

"It was incredible and it was really emotional to see a lot of my friends that play other sports, " said Trinity senior captain Caelin Flaherty.  "It's not a big sport where a lot of the school comes out to. They were supporting with big signs and posters with my face on it. It's pretty emotional for a last game."

Johns Hopkins had the three penalty corners and only two shots of the first quarter, but the Bantams came out strong in the second frame.  Trinity got its first penalty corner right away and junior Riley Nichols (Austin, Texas) and Flaherty both made Blue Jay goalie Alexis Loder make saves in the first minute of the second quarter.  Neither team put a shot on goal the rest of the first half, and Emily Amsden shot wide on a penalty stroke with 9:15 on the clock for Johns Hopkins.  Both offense looked alive early in the third quarter, as Flaherty forced Loder to make her third save in the first two minutes and three Blue Jays peppered Trinity sophomore goalie Olivia McMichael (Glenside, Pa.) with shots in a 35-second span moments later. 

Johns Hopkins finally broke through when Olivia Fox came up with the ball outside after a scrum in front of the Trinity goal and sent a pass forward into the circle to Birk who sent the ball quickly into the cage to McMichael's left.  Trinity's best opportunity for a tie came on a penalty corner with eight minutes remaining, as rookie back Izzy Deveney (Westport, Conn.) got a clear and hard shot off from the left but Loder batted it out with her foot.  Flaherty sent a bouncing ball toward the cage from the top of circle on the last play of the game, but it was deflected away as the horn went off.

"These guys have huge hearts right now," said Trinity Head Coach Anne Parmenter. "We always say out-perform where we should and I think one thing that Trinity does is we might not have all the names and all the talent but we have bigger hearts than anyone in the country."

On Sunday, Flaherty and Taylor were named to the NCAA Division III Championship All-Tournament Team.  The full team included: Alexis Loder (JHU) - Goalkeeper, Kristiina Castagnola (Rowan), Molly Gorczyca (Rowan), Christine Taylor (Trinity), Caelin Flaherty (Trinity), Anna Scott (JHU), Abby Birk (JHU), Katie George (Middlebury), Amy Griffin (Middlebury), Joan Vera (Middlebury), MVP Erin Nicholas (Middlebury)