Courtesy of Trinity College Sports Information

HARTFORD, CT – The Amherst College women's soccer team defeated the Trinity College Bantams 3-0 today at Campus Field, eliminating Trinity's chance at home field advantage in the first round of the NESCAC Championship. The Bantams finish their regular season at 9-5 overall and 4-5 in the league, while Amherst, ranked No. 9 in the nation, will head into postseason play with a record of 9-1-3 and 7-0-2 in the league.

The Amherst defense was able to frustrate Trinity's offense all day long, and Amherst goalkeepers Lili Ferguson (Winnetka, IL) and first-years Claire Bennett (Westfield, NJ) and Allie Horwitz (Woodbridge, CT), combined to make six saves for the shutout.

Senior Natalie Ferraiolo (Palo Alto, CA) opened the gates with a first half goal assisted by sophomore Kyla Woodhouse (Topsham, ME), which was the only goal Amherst would need.  Junior Jillian Whiting (Clark, NJ) added a goal in the second half, and first-year Livia Rizzo (Dover, MA) followed that up to pad the Amherst advantage to 3-0.

Trinity first-year Jenny Ley (Warwick, RI) perhaps had the best opportunity in the game for Trinity, sending a shot off the cross bar in the waning minutes of the game in a bid to break up the Amherst shut out. Sophomore goalkeeper Emily Weedon (Wellesley, MA) made seven stops for the Bantams.

The Lord Jeffs earned the No. 2 seed in the upcoming NESCAC Championship and will host Wesleyan University Sunday, Nov. 2 at 12:30 p.m. on Hitchcock Field. Trinity is the No. 6 seed in the tournament and will travel to third-seeded Middlebury College for a 12:30 p.m. match.

2008 NESCAC WOMEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP

Sunday, Nov. 2 at Higher Seeds
Quarterfinal Games
No. 8 Colby at No. 1 Williams - 12:30 pm
No. 7 Wesleyan at No. 2 Amherst – 12:30 pm
No. 6 Trinity at No. 3 Middlebury – 12:30 pm
No. 5 Bowdoin at No. 4 Tufts – 12:30 pm

Saturday, Nov. 8 at Highest Remaining Seed
Semifinals – games at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Highest remaining seed vs. lowest remaining seed
Remaining first round winners

Sunday, Nov. 9
Final - 12:00 p.m.
Semifinal winners