Sports
Field hockey registers crucial wins
By Erich Wohl ’18
October 6, 2016
Tags sports
Prior to Sunday’s matchup against Tufts, the Women’s field hockey team was on a hot streak of four consecutive wins. After a strong win against fellow NESCAC Connecticut College, the Continentals defeated Middlebury 4-2 at home and won at Utica College 7-0. After a slow start to the season, the Continentals have come back strong.
The Continentals started their season weekend homestand with an excellent win against Connecticut College, where they dominated wire to wire. First-year sensation Michaela Giuttari ’20 came up huge, scoring or assisting on every goal. This was the Continentals’ first conference win this season. Giuttari, who has scored at least one goal during each of the past three games, gave the Continentals a two-goal lead with 9:56 left as the first half was winding down. Following a corner, Margaret Revera ’18 set up Giuttari for a perfect one-timer. It was Revera’s seventh assist of her Hamilton career. That would be the last score of the game as the Continentals shut out the Camels in the second half to win the game 3-1.
After a strong game against Connecticut, Hamilton put up one of their strongest wins of the decade by upsetting nationally ranked #3 Middlebury. This was Hamilton’s first win against the field hockey powerhouse since 1991.
Giuttari once again led the way for the Continentals with a goal and an assist. Hamilton got off to a quick start with two goals from Giuttari and Caroline Ames ’17. Hamilton legend Eva Rosencrans ’17 scored the game winning goal at the beginning of the second half to put the Continentals up for good. The Continentals put the nail in the coffin following their sixth and final corner of the day. The ball was stopped by Ames, and redirected into the cage by Tatiana Bradley ’19 for her third goal this year with 8:49 to go. The Panthers fought viciously to get back into the game, but goalie Julia Booth ’19 was an absolute stone wall. Booth had several saves in the game including three in the last 10 minutes of the game.
Coming off of this huge win, the Continentals had momentum, and they rode that momentum through an annihilation of Utica College. Rosencrans and Giuttari each scored two goals. The outcome of the game was never in doubt with Hamilton leading wire to wire with a 7-0 win. The women managed to improve their record on the season to 2-1 in out of conference play.
The women then traveled to Wesleyan to start off October with yet another win. Once again Rosencrans and Giuttari scored for Hamilton. For Rosencrans, the goal was the 45th of her career, matching the program’s career record set by Colleen Callaghan ’11 from 2008 to 2011. This was Rosencrans’ 100th point, making her and Callaghan the only two players to reach that mark.
Next, the team traveled to Medford, MA, to take on the #6 Tufts Jumbos on Sunday. Even though the Continentals fell 2-0, they still put up a valiant effort against a tough opponent who has only lost one game this season. The 2-0 score is respectable, especially given that the Jumbos fired 16 shots and Booth registered a season-high 10 saves. With the team back on track after having won four games in a row, the Continentals are at midseason with a record of 5-4, on pace to match their record from last year. Even with the loss to Tufts, Hamilton is still in a playoff position at seventh place in the NESCAC, and boasts a conference record of 3-3. Rosencrans and Giuttari have led the team thus far, both scoring in three straight games and tying for season goals at eight. After an amazing stretch of performances Giuttari was named the NESCAC field hockey player of the week. The first-year forward posted eight points last week and extended her point streak to four games.
The Continentals will look to return to their winning ways and rise back above .500 in the conference on Saturday against #10 Amherst. The Purple and White handed Tufts their only loss and will be a tough opponent for the Continentals. However, Amherst lost to Middlebury, which Hamilton beat. Certainly then, Saturday’s game is winnable for the Continentals. A victory would not only be a huge boost for Hamilton in the NESCAC playoff push, but would be a statement to the rest of the NESCAC that they are the real deal.