HARTFORD, Conn. - The Trinity College Bantams, coached by Rachael Schroeder (4th Season), have qualified for the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Women's Soccer Championship Tournament for the 14th time and the second year in a row and will visit the Middlebury College Panthers in the opening round on Saturday, October 29 at noon. The Bantams finished the 2021 regular season with a 6-3-6 overall record and a 4-2-4 mark in the league to tie Bowdoin and Middlebury for third place in the final standings.  Bowdoin earned the No. 3 seed in the tourney on a three-way tiebreaker and Middlebury secured the No. 4 seed and a first round home game with its 1-0 win over the Bantams on October 15.  Middlebury finished the year 10-4-1 overall and 5-4-1 in the league.  Both teams are ranked nationally, as the Bantams are No. 23 in the nation and Middlebury is No. 20.

Trinity was undefeated (5-0-6) heading into the Middlebury game on October 15, but suffered three 1-0 losses in the last 11 days of the regular season sandwiched around a 2-1 victory against then-No. 10-ranked Williams on October 22.  Trinity seeks its first quarterfinal victory since 2016 when the Bantams reached the NESCAC Finals.  The winner of the NESCAC Championship Tournament will determine the league's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. Top-seeded Amherst (13-2, 8-2) hosts No. 8-seeded Connecticut College (7-5-3, 3-4-3), No. 2-seeded Williams (10-3-2, 7-2-1) hosts No. 6-seeded Tufts (8-6, 5-5) and No. 3-seeded Bowdoin (10-4-1, 5-4-1) hosts No. 6-seeded Wesleyan (7-4-4, 4-3-3) in the other quarterfinal games Saturday.  

Junior Gabby Grattan (Milton, Mass.) and rookie forward Elena Lindonen (Boxford, Mass.) lead the Bantam scoring attack with three goals apiece, while junior tri-captain midfielder Cassie Lee (Newton, Mass.) adds a goal and two assists.  Grattan and junior Sadie Rudolph (Weston, Conn.) have each stated every game in the Trinity midfield, and senior tri-captain Molly Broderick (Rye, N.Y.) has started all 15 games for the Bantam defense which has yielded less than 10 shots per game this fall.  Junior goalkeeper Mariana Cournoyer (St. Paul, Minn.) has logged all 1,350 of Trinity minutes this season, totaling 68 saves for an .895 save percentage and allowing only eight goals for a 0.53 GAA .with seven shutouts.  

Middlebury, coached by Peter Kim (19th Season), is the No. 4 seed for the second straight season and will host a quarterfinal for the sixth consecutive year on Saturday.  The Panthers are 3-0 versus the Bantams in the NESCAC Championship with a 2-0 victory in the most recent meeting in the 2010 quarterfinals.  The Panthers have played in the last three NESCAC Finals.  Joely Virzi has a team-high four goals for the Panthers, while Sydney Poppingas has 40 saves, an .870 save percentage, and a 0.71 GAA in goal for Middlebury.  Trinity has a six-game winless streak against Middlebury (0-4-2) and is looking for its first win on Dragone Field since 2010.