Sports
Women’s lacrosse bounces back after loss to No. 1 Trinity with wins against Tufts and Williams
By Patrick Malin ’18
April 17, 2015
The Hamilton women’s lacrosse team scored two key victories against impressive NESCAC opponents and continue to climb up the national rankings. The Continentals were coming off a tough defeat at the hands of Trinity on April 4, but were able to rebound and post cansecutive wins during a crucial stretch of their schedule.
The team traveled to Williamstown, MA on April 8 to play the NESCAC rival Williams Ephs. In a high scoring first half, Ashleigh Stephan ’15 put the Continentals on the board first, grabbing an early 1-0 lead just over three minutes into the game.
The Ephs quickly tallied two goals of their own, but a goal by Margaret Gabriel ’16 leveled the score at 2-2. Caroline McCarthy ’16 capitalized on the momentum shift and scored her 14th goal of the season to put Hamilton out in front once again.
Williams charged back, though, and ended the half with three unanswered goals, sending the Continentals into the locker room down 5-3 at halftime.
Leading goal scorer Morgan Fletcher ’17 kicked off the second half scoring for Hamilton with two consecutive goals, but Williams was able to match Hamilton’s efforts and remained in the lead 8-5.
With 13:50 left in the second half, the Continentals took over. Madison Beres ’15 scored on a free position shot, and Fletcher added her third goal of the game to pull Hamilton within one. Stephen scored her second of the game and goals by Darby Philbrick ’18 and Gabriel put the Continentals ahead 10-8 with two minutes remaining.
Williams scored one goal to bring the game to within one, but Hannah Rubin ’17 slammed the door shut with a save in the last 30 seconds to seal the victory for Hamilton.
This past weekend, the team hosted the #10 nationally ranked Tufts Jumbos at Steuben Field. Gabriel picked up where she left off against Williams, scoring the first goal of the game from an assist by Emily Randall ’16. Philbrick added her eighth goal of the season and McCarthy scored, but Tufts matched the Hamilton effort goal for goal, preserving a 3-3 tie.
The Continentals scored three unanswered goals (by McCarthy, Taylor Ryan ’17 and Gabriel) to pull away with four minutes remaining in the half. Tufts came back, though, scoring three consecutive goals of their own to bring the game to a 6-6 tie at halftime.
Hamilton displayed its dominance in the second half of the game, as Fletcher scored her team leading 24th goal of the season, putting the Continentals up by one goal. Nora Klemmer ’17 scored a goal just a minute later, and Philbrick added her second of the game to put the Continentals up 9-6 with 12:06 remaining in the game. Strong defense and several key saves by Rubin preserved the victory, the final score reading 9-7 in favor of the Continentals.
Despite a tough loss to Middlebury yesterday 12-10, the team is still ranked #7 in Division III Women’s Lacrosse and holds an overall record of 10-3 and a NESCAC record of 6-3. Hamilton’s only losses this season come from three NESCAC opponents that are all ranked in the top five nationally, including the #1 ranked team in the country, the Trinity Bantams.
The last week of the regular season features two key matchups that will have significant playoff implications. On April 18, Hamilton will travel to New London to play Connecticut College, a team with a 1-7 record against NESCAC opponents this season. The Continentals will then conclude their season with a non-conference game at Ithaca on April 21. The women’s lacrosse team looks to end the season with strong performances heading into the postseason.