Trinity Field Hockey Hosts NESCAC Final Four This Weekend, Opens Against Defending Champs
Hartford, Conn., Nov. 5, 2009 - The top-seeded Trinity College Bantams, which won against No. 8-seeded Connecticut College, 2-1, on Sunday to improve to 14-1, its best record since starting out 15-0 in 1997, in the quarterfinals of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship Tournament, will host the NESCAC Semifinals and Finals for the first time on Robin L. Sheppard Field on Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8. The Bantams play the four-time defending league champion, and two-time defending NCAA Champion Bowdoin College Polar Bears in the first semifinals game Saturday at 11 a.m. The No. 6-seeded Polar Bears, ranked No. 5 in the New England West Region, and No. 13 in the nation, has a 10-5 record after a 3-0 win at No. 15-ranked Amherst on Sunday in its quarterfinal game. The Bantams, ranked No. 1 in the New England West and No. 6 nationally, won, 2-0, at home against Bowdoin a couple of weeks ago and own a two-game winning streak against them. Trinity won, 2-0, at Bowdoin last fall to stop the Polar Bears' 31-game winning streak and their 39-game winning streak on their home turf.
In the other NESCAC Semifinal Saturday, No. 2-seeded Tufts, ranked No. 2 in the New England West and No. 5 in the nation, faces No. 5-seeded Williams, which upset No. 4-seeded and No. 11-ranked Middlebury in its quarterfinal game, and the winners will play in the NESCAC Finals on Sunday, Nov. 8 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 (9th season) was vying for its first perfect regular season at home against Amherst on October 30, but suffered a 1-0 loss. The Bantams trailed, 1-0, to the Connecticut College Camels two days later, but posted their first-ever NESCAC Championship home victory thanks to goals by juniors Christy Bradley (Wellesley, Mass.) and Robyn Williams (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe). Trinity sophomore goalkeeper Gina Dinallo (West Hartford, Conn.) had six saves against Amherst and one against Connecticut College.
Dinallo tops the league and all of NCAA Division III in save percentage at .905 and ranks second in the conference in GAA at 0.79 (5th in nation), and fourth in saves with 7.60 per game (114), while logging all 1,066 of Trinity's minutes in goal this fall. Senior co-captain Meg Ryan (Newburyport, Mass.) and sophomores Payson Sword (Princeton, N.J.) and Maggie Epstein (St. Louis, Mo.) have anchored the defense in front of Dinallo, helping Dinallo record six shutouts. Sword is also a factor on offense with four goals, all gamewinners, and two assists this fall.
Williams is tied for second in the league in assists with 0.53 per game (8) to go with 0.60 goals per game (9, 6th in NESCAC) for 1.73 ppg (26, 6th in NESCAC). Bradley ranks fourth in the conference in goals with 0.87 per game (13), including four gamewinners, and also has three assists for 29 points (1.93 per game, 4th in NESCAC). Wolcott has six goals and two assists for 14 points and first-years Alanna Capasso (Weston, Mass.) and Michelle Williams (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe), Robyn's sister, have 17 points between them on three goals and three assists, and two goals and four assists, respectively. Capasso and sophomore forward Caroline Snite (Philadelphia, Pa.) have been solid contributors on the offensive end this fall, while Williams, first-year Haley Thompson (Ipswich, Mass.) and senior Lindsay Waddington (Granby, Conn.) make up a consistent midfield on both ends of the field.
