Women’s Soccer Falls Short in Second Round of NCAAs

SAMANTHA BEATI ’17
STAFF WRTIER
The Trinity College Women’s Soccer Team played Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Saturday, Nov. 12, making their second appearance in the program’s history in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The game was held at William Smith College in Geneva, New York.
WPI and Trinity remained scoreless throughout 110 minutes of play on Cozzens Field, despite Trinity having 12 shots on goal compared to WPI’s four. On the stats sheet, the Bantams had the edge over WPI, but the team still managed to commit 12 fouls, which proved costly during the game with missed opportunities.
After regulation and two ten-minute overtimes, the game was sent to penalty kicks. Sheena Landy’17 put the first one in off the hand of WPI’s goalie and into the net. WPI’s Jamie Espinola scored her penalty as well, which put the game at a 1-1 tie; this was be the only time during the game that the Engineers scored. Tricia Pollock ’20 converted her penalty kick for the Bantams sending the ball right past WPI goalie Gabi Hoops. The Bantams eventually clinched the game on an Alexa Barberesi ’18 penalty kick.
The Bantams’ next game took place on Sunday where they faced the top ranked and undefeated William Smith College Herons. Both sides played well, but William Smith College could not be stopped. They had 17 shots on goal compared to just three from Trinity. At halftime the game was tied, but shortly after the start of the second half, the Herons scored three quick goals in a span of less than nine minutes.
After this barrage of shooting, Trinity was unable to gain any offensive momentum to make a comeback and ultimately lost to 3-0. This loss knocked them out of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament and ended their season.
“I could not be more proud of this team and particularly our seniors who moved this program forward to new heights,” said Trinity Head Coach Michael Smith after the game, as reported by Trinity College Sports Communications. “They accomplished so many goals that had never been done before including two NCAA Tournaments where we advanced into the second round, three years with double-digit wins, and our first NESCAC Finals appearance. They came full circle by playing this deep into the post-season as freshman and as seniors, and all five of them deserve a load of credit for raising the bar for this program to a new level.”
Congratulations to the Trinity College Women’s Soccer team on a fantastic season and the graduating seniors on an exceptional career: Laura Nee, Sheena Landy, Kendra Lena, Andi Nicholson, Nicole Stauffer and Lorig Purutyan.