HARTFORD, Conn. - The No. 3-seeded Trinity College field hockey team topped the No. 6-seeded Bowdoin College Polar Bears, 2-0, last Saturday in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Quarterfinals to advance to the NESCAC Championship Final Four this weekend at top-seeded Middlebury.  In the semifinals, the Bantams drew the No. 2-seeded Tufts University Jumbos and will play in the second semifinal game on Saturday, November 5 at 1:30 p.m., following the other semifinal match between the top-seeded Panthers and the No. 5-seeded Williams College Ephs.  Tufts won its quarterfinal game, 1-0 against No. 7-seeded Bates last weekend.  Saturday's 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 Anne Parmenter (22nd Season), is playing in its ninth overall NESCAC Semifinals and seeks a third appearance in the conference finals in five seasons but also its first league crown.  The Bantams, ranked No. 4 in the region and No. 5 in the nation, rattled off nine wins in a row to start the year, but lost twice in a row, including its first defeat of the year, 2-0, at Tufts, in early October. The Bantams enter this weekend having won four of five games including a thrilling, 2-1 triumph at previously-undefeated Middlebury but also a 2-0 home loss to Williams.  Both Trinity goals in the NESCAC Quarterfinal win against Bowdoin came on penalty corners, the first by sophomore Ashley Zigler (Falls Church, Va.) from junior Jackie Frank (Longmeadow, Mass.) and the second by junior Katrina Winfield (Wilmington, Del.) from senior tri-captain Elle Fair (Westport, Conn.).  Bantam junior Olivia McMichael (Glenside, Pa.) needed to make just one save in the cage.

Winfield is Trinity's top scorer this fall with 11 goals and three assists for 25 points, followed by 2021 All-American forward Caelin Flaherty (Upton, Mass.) who adds seven goals and a team-high nine assist for 23 points.  Trinity boasts a balanced offense with juniors Jackie Frank (Longmeadow, Mass,) and Demarest Janis (Cos Cob, Conn.) and sophomore back Izzy Deveney (Westport, Conn.) also in double digits in scoring.  McMichael has 65 saves for an .823 save percentage and a 0.87 GAA in the cage, playing behind Trinity's stout defense that includes Deveney and juniors Molly King (Canton, Mass.) and Kylie Tierney (Garden City, N.Y.).  The Jumbos (11-5), coached by Tina Mattera (19th Season), are ranked No. 2 in the region and No. 9 nationally.  Reegan McCluskey, who scored the goal against Bates, and Andrea DelGiudice have each scored 16 times for Tufts, while Jumbo senior goalkeeper Sam Gibby has a save percentage of 0.76.  Tufts is 5-1 against Trinity all-time in the NESCAC Tournament including a 2-0 victory the last time they played in the 2015 quarters.