Oct. 19, 2009

Courtesy of Tufts

MEDFORD -- In a game between top 5 teams who were undefeated and battling for first place in NESCAC, junior Christy Bradley (Wellesley, MA) scored two goals and sophomore goalkeeper Gina Dinallo (West Hartford, CT) made 15 saves to lead the #5 ranked Trinity Bantams over the #3 Tufts Jumbos, 2-1, on Saturday afternoon.

The game lived up to its billing. In the first half, both teams played stingy defense and allowed few quality scoring chances. Only 13 total shots were fired in the first half as much of the play was in the center of the field. However, with 7:00 remaining, Tufts senior Michelle Kelly (Downington, PA) intercepted a Bantam pass and blasted a shot just inside the near post to give the Jumbos a 1-0 lead. Kelly was one of four Jumbos playing on Seniors' Day at Bello Field.

The Tufts lead would stand until the half. The hosts held and edge in penalty corners 7-1 and outshot the Bantams 9-4 for the first 35 minutes.

In the second half, play intensified in front of a large crowd at Bello. A little more than 10 minutes into the period, Trinity found a loose ball in front of the Tufts cage and first-year Alanna Capasso (Weston, MA) made a short pass to Bradley who buried it to tie the game at 1-1. The goal seemed to increase the intensity even more as both teams had good chances but to no avail. The game went to overtime, the first for Tufts and the third time for Trinity.

In the extra period, both teams had several chances to win as 12 total shots were taken (seven by Tufts). Trinity, however, finished off the comeback with 7:01 remaining as Capasso found a streaking Bradley and she slid the ball under Tufts goalie Marianna Zak (Concord, MA) to give the Bantams the victory. The assist was the second of the game for Capasso.

Trinity now stands alone in first place with a 7-0 NESCAC mark (11-0 overall). The loss is the first of the year for the Jumbos and ends their 30-game regular-season unbeaten streak. They fall to 10-1 overall and 6-1 in the league. The Jumbos finished with a 24-16 advantage in shots and 19-8 in penalty corner attempts. Dinallo made five saves in each period for the Bantams. Zak finished with eight saves for Tufts.

The Jumbos next play their final non-conference game at Gordon on Tuesday. The Bantams travel to Springfield on Wednesday.