Shannon Welch/Photo Editor

Thanks to the contributions of Walter Rodriguez ’13 and tri-captain Rory O’Neill ’13, third-seeded Wesleyan advanced to the semifinals of the NESCAC tournament by beating sixth-seeded Trinity College 2-1 last Saturday. The final score was an exact replication of the score between Wesleyan and Trinity just four days prior, but the story was different. Trinity played stronger and at times, especially early, appeared as though it would be able to pull off the upset.

“They got ahead of us early, but we were confident that we would make it back,” said  winger Noah Schlesinger ’13.

His statement sums up the tenacity with which the team played during both games against Trinity. This game looked as though it could be a letdown in the beginning. Trinity got on the board first in the 27th minute when Trinity starter Tim Shea beat Wesleyan tri-captain Adam Purdy ’13 in a one-on-one. The Bantams’ lead would last through the first half, causing Cardinal faithfuls to fear that they would meet the same untimely first round exit that they did last year.

The second half began in an entirely different fashion, and the Cardinals’ leading goal scorer struck gold for the third game in a row. In the 65th minute, O’Neill possessed a ball in front of goal off the head of tri-captain Cabell Maddux ’13 and sent a quick shot into the twine, assuaging the fears of Wesleyan’s crowd and inspiring the team to press for goal again. They were rewarded for their continued aggression late in the 86th minute when Daniel Issroff ’15 passed to a streaking Rodriguez, who scored his first goal of the year in perhaps the most vital of circumstances. The final four minutes played out uneventfully, and it was Trinity who met their exit in the first round.

At the end of the game Wes led in shots by a total of 16-11, including a clearly better-played 9-5 advantage in the second half. Four yellow cards were delivered to Trinity throughout the game, while Wesleyan’s Brandon Sousa ’16 was the only Cardinal to receive such a warning.

Top-seeded Williams will host the last two rounds of the tournament. Wesleyan will take on undefeated second-seed Amherst in the semifinals on Saturday, while Williams will face fourth-seeded Tufts just before. The winners of both games will meet on Sunday to determine the NESCAC tournament champion.