Sports
#2 Williams ends women’s soccer’s season in quarterfinals
By Mary Lundin ’19
November 3, 2016
Tags sports
On Saturday the Hamilton Women’s soccer team endured a tough battle against the Williams College Ephs in the quarterfinal round of the 2016 NESCAC playoffs. The playoff game against Williams, the defending NESCAC and NCAA champions, took place at Williams College in Williamstown, M.A. Prior to the game, the Continentals were (5-7-3) overall.
The Continentals came out strong with Katja Dunlap ’18 scoring her second goal of the season 15 minutes into play, putting Hamilton in the lead. Katie Krieder ’18 kicked from the right corner to Amanda Becker ’18, who passed the ball to Dunlap. Dunlap then inserted the ball right below Williams goalkeeper Olivia Barnhill ’19 who came out of the net and failed to block the shot. Seven minutes later, Williams returned to even the score on a goal by Natalie Turner- Wyatt ’19. Natasha Albaneze ’18 turned over a cross into the box and Hamilton’s initial clearance wound up controlled by Turner-Wyatt, who whistled the ball directly into the top right goal corner 18 yards from the goal line. Williams’ Sarah Sciré ’20 resolved to recover the ball from a Continental to set up a goal less than three minutes later. With great agility and unmistakable strength, a Hamilton defender blocked Sciré’s through ball, but Kristi Kirshe ’17 quickly collected the deflection and dribbled the ball into the penalty area and then scored to secure the win.
Almost eight minutes into the second period, Danielle Sim ’18 scored Williams’ third goal by receiving a pass in the penalty area, and then sending it past Hamilton goalie Emily Dumont ’18. Managing to stay tireless, focused and skillful throughout the match, Williams seemed to be unstoppable. Williams’ Alison Lu ’20 scored soon after, with Williams’ fourth and final goal with just under 20 minutes left of game time.
Although Williams seemed to be controlling the game, Dumont made six saves, one save short of her season best. The Continentals also managed to force Williams’ Barnhill to make her second-highest save total of the season with eight shots.
Olivia Simone ’19 shared her thoughts about the game. She said, “So as a team we knew going into the game that Williams was the number one seed and the defending national champion. We knew no one expected us to win, but we went into the game with the same fight we go into every game with. We are such a hardworking team and we really showed that, especially with our first goal.”
This NESCAC quarterfinal game, the Continentals’ fourth NESCAC playoff in six years, was certainly a solid effort put forth by the Continentals’, showing their desire to push themselves, play competitively, and improve their game. This game was the final game for seniors Morgan Fletcher, Bea Blackwell, Ali Clarke and KC Kelly.