Trinity Men's Soccer Qualifies for Eighth NESCAC Tournament
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trinity (Conn.) (5-6-4) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Wesleyan (Conn.) (9-3-3) | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Scoring Summary | |
|---|---|
| 1st - 26:00 | Timothy Shea (Trinity (Conn.)) |
| 2nd - 64:52 | Rory O'Neill (Wesleyan (Conn.)) |
| 2nd - 85:24 | Walter Rodriguez (Wesleyan (Conn.)) |
| Trinity (Conn.) | Wesleyan (Conn.) |
|---|---|
|
G:
Timothy Shea - 1
A: Anthony El-Hachem - 1 Sh: Anthony El-Hachem - 3 Sv: James Ciano - 3 |
G:
2 Players (#7, #10 - 1)
A: 2 Players (#15, #20 - 1) Sh: Rory O'Neill - 7 Sv: Adam Purdy - 4 |
| TEAM STATISTICS | Trinity (Conn.) | Wesleyan (Conn.) |
|---|---|---|
| Shots (on goal) | 11 (5) | 16 (5) |
| Saves | 3 | 4 |
| Fouls | 14 | 12 |
| Corner Kicks | 2 | 3 |
| Offsides | 3 | 1 |
Hartford, Conn. - The Trinity College men's soccer team, coached by Michael Pilger (9th Season), has qualified for the NESCAC Championship Tournament for the eighth time and the second year in a row, and will play at No. 3-seeded Wesleyan as the tourney's No. 6 seed on Saturday, October 27 at noon. The Bantams finished the 2012 regular season with a 5-5-4 overall record and a 3-5-2 mark in the league. Wesleyan finished the year 8-3-3 overall and 6-2-2 in the league, including a 2-1 victory at Trinity on Wednesday. The winner of the NESCAC Championship Tournament will determine the league's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. Top-seeded Williams (12-0-2, 8-0-2) hosts No. 8-seeded Connecticut College (5-3-6, 1-3-6), No. 2-seeded Amherst (12-0-2, 8-0-2) hosts No. 7-seeded Middlebury (6-6-1, 3-6-1) and No. 4-seeded Tufts (8-3-3, 5-2-3) hosts No. 5-seeded Bowdoin (8-4-2, 4-4-2) in the other quarterfinal games Saturday.
On Wednesday, junior forward Christian Carrasquillo (Manchester, Conn.) tied the score at one apiece in the second half on a goal from senior captain midfielder Anthony El-Hachem (Vernon, Conn.), and sophomore goalkeeper Jason Katz (Middleton, Mass.) made sevena saves in goal. Trinity downed Connecticut College, 2-1, and Williams, 1-0, at Amherst to reach its first NESCAC Finals last fall, losing to top-seeded Amherst, 2-0, in the league finals. The Bantams are 0-4-1 in their last five games.
El-Hachem and Carrasquillo are tied for the team lead in scoring with four goals and two assists for 10 points apiece, while junior forward Julian Gocksch (Centerport, N.Y.) adds two goals and one assist for five points. Katz has allowed 15 goals in 997 minutes for a 1.35 GAA to go with 43 saves and a .741 save percentage. Junior captain Shaun McGann (West Hartford, Conn.) has started every game on the back line for the second-straight season and junior captain back Zach Packer (North Attleboro, Mass.) has played in all 14 games with 13 starts.
Wesleyan coached by Geoff Wheeler (14th Season), ended a three-game winless streak at Trinity on Wednesday. Rory O'Neill is the top scoring Cardinal with four goals and one assist, while senior Dan Purdy has allowed just seven goals this fall with 47 saves, an .870 save percentage, and a 0.48 GAA in goal for Wesleyan.