HARTFORD, Conn. - The No. 5-seeded Trinity College women's soccer team upended the No. 4-seeded Middlebury College Panthers, 2-1, over the weekend in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Quarterfinals to advance to the NESCAC Championship Final Four this weekend at top-seeded Amherst College.  In Saturday's semifinals, the Bantams face the No. 6-seeded Wesleyan University Cardinals at 1:30 p.m. Wesleyan advanced on penalty kicks after playing to a scoreless tie in its quarterfinal game against No. 3-seeded Bowdoin Saturday to earn the right to play Trinity.  Amherst plays No. 7-seeded Tufts in the other NESCAC Semifinal contest and the winners will play in the NESCAC Finals on Sunday, November 6 at noon.  The winner of the NESCAC Championship Tournament will determine the league's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.

Trinity, coached by Rachael Schroeder (4th Season), is 7-3-6 and makes its fourth appearance in the NESCAC Semifinals but its first since 2016 when the Bantams played in the conference finals.  Trinity is 2-1 against the field including a 1-0 win against Wesleyan on September 24, a 1-0 road win against Tufts on October 2, and a 1-0 setback against Amherst in the regular season finale on October 25.  The Bantams and the Polar Bears have never met in the NESCAC Tournament and both squads are 1-2 all-time in the semifinal round.  Sophomore Katelyn Charette (Hampton, N.H.) scored the Trinity goal against Wesleyan in September and junior goalie Mariana Cournoyer (St. Paul, Minn.) was stellar in goal with nine saves to earn the shutout win.  The Bantams are ranked No. 3 in their region and No. 19 nationally in the United Soccer Coaches' Polls and No. 5 in the region in the NCAA rankings.  Wesleyan is No. 7 in the United Soccer Regional Poll and No. 6 in the region according to the NCAA.

Junior Gabby Grattan (Milton, Mass.) and rookie forward Elena Lindonen (Boxford, Mass.) lead the Bantam scoring attack with three goals and six points apiece, while junior tri-captain Cassie Lee (Newton, Mass.)  adds two goals and two assists for six points.  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 16 games for the Bantam defense that has yielded just nine goals this fall.  Junior goalkeeper Mariana Cournoyer (St. Paul, Minn.) has logged all 1,440 of Trinity's minutes this season and tops the NESCAC in saves (75), save percentage (.893, T15th in nation), GAA (0.563) and shutouts (7).  Senior Mia Fusco (Winchester, Mass.) and junior Dot Tilden (Hanover, Mass.) scored the Bantam goals against Middlebury in the NESCAC Quarterfinals, while Lee and senior Hannah Storozuk (Tolland, Conn.) notched assists, and Cournoyer made seven saves.

Wesleyan, coached by Eva Meredith (19th Season), advanced to the NESCAC Semifinals for the second straight season and the fourth time overall with a 5-3 edge on penalty kicks at Bowdoin. The Cardinals are 7-4-5 overall but have a six-game unbeaten streak (3-0-3) since October 9. Wesleyan's offense boasts seniors Grace Devanny and Dani Milovanov with six goals apiece, and Devanny adds four assists for a team-high 16 points. Sarah Hammond has a 0.57 GAA (2nd in NESCAC) and a 0.86 save percentage for the Cardinals. In 2021, Wesleyan came up short in the NESCAC Finals on penalty kicks against Middlebury.