Jessie Gargiulo's second hat trick of the season propelled Bates past Eastern Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.

SOMERVILLE, Mass. -- In the second game of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer regional at Tufts University on Saturday, Bates College handled Eastern Connecticut, 3-1, with three second-half goals from junior Jessie Gargiulo (Boxborough, Mass.) and resilient play from the entire squad throughout the day at Kraft Field on Saturday.

Eastern Connecticut, the Little East Conference champions, came out strong against the Bobcats. Early on, the Warriors handled play in the Bobcat end, pressuring the flanks with great consistency. Senior Jenn Orme (Centereach, N.Y.) went charging down the right flank and shot a cannon that trickled through the legs of Bates sophomore goalie Nini Spalding (San Francisco), allowing the Warriors to grab the early advantage five minutes into the match.

Orme again came down the right flank 30 seconds later, firing another shot on net that Spalding was able to stop. It looked as though the Warriors were in control early on, but the momentum changed quickly as Bates picked up its team defense, effectively shutting down the explosive Orme for the rest of the match.

Throughout the remainder of the first half, Bates peppered senior goalie Allison Sumecki (Northford, Conn.), who was up to the challenge. Junior Kim Alexander (Cumberland, Maine) controlled the middle of the field with great ease dishing the ball to her flanks and setting up Bates with many opportunities. But Bates could not get through the back line of the Warriors, continually shooting the ball over the net on heavily guarded tries. However, one could feel the tables turning even as Eastern took its 1-0 lead to halftime.

Bates again came out firing in the second half and was rewarded in the 61st minute when Gargiulo found herself left open in front of the net on the backside of a corner kick by sophomore midfielder Molly Wagner (Longmeadow, Mass.), and she netted the tying goal. Alexander, who flipped the ball to Gargiulo in front of the net, earned the assist.

The Bobcats continued their attack on the weary Warriors defense when they netted the go-ahead tally in the 80th minute. Alexander crossed a long ball from the far side and again found Gargiulo in front of the net. She put it just over Sumecki's outstretched arm to give Bates the lead.

Gargiulo added a third goal with a left blast into the corner in the 83rd , on an assist from junior Mary Bucci (Norfolk, MA) to all but assure the Bobcats' victory.

The Warriors end the season 12-6-2, while Bates (14-3-1) moves on to another match with the Tufts University Jumbos on Sunday at 1 p.m. The second-round game will be a rematch of the double-overtime NESCAC championship game last Sunday on Kraft, a game won 2-1 by Bates. Tufts routed Johnson & Wales, 3-0, in Saturday's other NCAA first round match.

NCAA Division III Tournament First Round

Bates 3, Eastern Connecticut 1
At Somerville, Mass.

Saturday, November 12, 2005

Eastern Connecticut  (12-6-2) 1 0 - 1

Bates (14-3-1)   0 3 - 3

Scoring: E, Jenn Orme (Kaytee Zielinkski) 5:00; B, Jessie Gargiulo (Kim Alexander) 61:00; B, Gargiulo (Alexander) 80:00; B, Gargiulo (Mary Bucci) 83:00.

Goalkeeping: B, Nini Spalding (90:00 – 0 GA) 2 saves; E, Allison Sumecki (90:00 – 3 GA) 7 saves.

Shots: B, 24; E, 5.

Corner Kicks: B, 7; E, 1.