Field Hockey Season Ends in 2-1 Loss to No. 6 Ursinus

JUSTIN FORTIER ’18
STAFF WRITER
A season of hard work and solid performance brought Trinity into the NCAA Division III tournament. The No. 9 ranked Trinity College Bantams were privileged with hosting an NCAA tournament match on home turf.
The matchup was against the Cabrini University Cavaliers marked the final match the Trinity seniors would play on Robin L. Sheppard Field. The matchup was an absolutely enthralling 7-5 win for the Bantams, that began with a Cabrini goal in the second minute of the match.
The Bantam fans waited for twelve agonizing minutes, before midfielder Nicole Quinlan ’20 ripped a shot on the Caviler goalie Sara Devita. The shot was blocked and Trinity senior tri-captain Sydney Doolittle ’17 sent the ball into the net, Devita unable to make a second successive save.
The next goal came just two minutes later as Allison Slowe ’19 and Kelcie Finn ’18 connected for a go ahead goal. Finn set Slowe up for a textbook score after a series of passing off of a penalty corner by Quinlan.
The Bantams lead barely lasted longer than a minute before Cabrini College pulled the score even after a persistent goal by Cavalier Senior Kylie McDevitt. Quilian had made a valiant attempt to defend the first shot for Trinity, but McDeviit quickly regained control of the ball and sent it flying past Bantam goalie Lori Berger ’18.
Trinity sophomore forward Chandler Solimine recaptured the lead for the Bantams after she scored from Finn on a well-taken penalty corner. However, Cabrini pulled itself up and back into the fight. McDevitt converted a penalty stroke and pulled the game even at 3-3 to close out the first half.
Four minutes into the second half, Cabrini almost beat Berger to move ahead 4-3, but instead, the Trinity goalie made an incredible defensive decision and stopped a clear breakaway.
Trinity then notched two more goals on the scoreboard to comfortably lead the Cavaliers 5-3. Finn and Slowe proved their penalty corner expertise once again, sending two more goals in a manner just like their first.
In the remaining 28 minutes, four more goals were balanced on the scoreboard in Cabrini, Trinity, Trinity, Cabrini succession.
Trinity finished with a 30-to-8 shooting edge, but the real advantage came in the 15 penalty corners stacked against Cabrini’s eight. Finn finished with six points on a goal and five assists, while McDevitt had a hat trick for the Cavaliers. Berger only made a single save in the Bantam victory, while Bookman registered 15 stops for Cabrini.
Trinity, improved to 13-4 and advanced to the NCAA Second Round against No. 6-ranked Ursinus on Saturday Nov. 12, at Salisbury University. With the loss, Cabrini closes the year at 12-8.
In the following game Trinity fell 2-1 on Saturday afternoon at Sea Gull Stadium at Salisbury University. This difficult end to the season left Trinity with a 13-5 record while Ursinus improved to 17-4 before losing to Salisbury University the following day.
Although the season close brought heavy hearts for the Bantams and their fans, the NESCAC Player of the Year was awarded to Kelcie Finn ’18, who will be sure to continue to drive the team forward in the 2017 season.