Sports

Women’s soccer falls to Williams

By Levi Lorenzo ’19

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The Hamilton women’s soccer team suffered a defeat in its first game at the hands of defending NESCAC champion, Williams. The Ephs, currently ranked number one in the nation in Division III women’s soccer, scored three goals, two in the second half, while shutting out the Hamilton offense. Alison Lu ’20 bookended the scoring for the Ephs, finding the back of the net in the 32nd and 67th minutes, and Kristi Kirshe ’17 scored in the 61st. Lu’s two goals were unassisted, with the second coming on a penalty kick, while Natalie Turner-Wyatt ’19 and Natasha Albaneze ’18 registered assists on Kirshe’s goal. Olivia Barnhill ’19 posted a solid performance in net for the Ephs, making six saves to secure a shutout. 

The Hamilton offense will look to rebound after being shut out by the Eph defense. While the Continentals were not able to put the ball in the back of the net in their opener, they did manage 14 shots, six of which were on goal. Amanda Becker ’18 led the Continentals with four shots, followed by Bea Blackwell ’17, Fionn Fortune ’20, and Katie Kreider ’18, who each had two. Becker, Blackwell, Fortune, Kreider, Kate Whiston ’18 and Kristin Hughes ’20 each put one shot on net. Last season, Darby Philbrick ’18, Becker and Katja Dunlap ’18 tied for the team lead with six goals and figure to lead the Hamilton scoring attack this year. Philbrick finished in a tie for sixth place in the NESCAC in goals scored per match in 2015 and, having started just one game last season, figures to improve on her statistics in 2016. 

The Hamilton defense looks to tighten up after yielding 14 shots, 10 of which were on goal, and three goals to Williams in the season opener. McKillop, Kristin Hughes ’20, Morgan Fletcher ’17 and Cassie Hayward ’19 started on defense for the Continentals against the Ephs and all played a full 90 minutes. McKillop, Fletcher and Hayward each started in every match they played in during the 2015 season and provide a strong core for the Hamilton defense. Olivia Simone ’19, who started six games in 2015, registered 34 minutes against Williams. Goalkeeper Emily Dumont ’18 started just three of Hamilton’s 16 games in 2015 but played the entire Williams game in net. Dumont tied a career high against the Ephs by making seven saves out of 10 shots on goal but, unfortunately, was charged with the loss, sending her career record to 5-2. Rachel Cooley ’18 started 24 total games in the 2014 and 2015 season , registering over 2000 minutes in goal, but did not see action in the opener. 

Another area of work for the Continentals could be team discipline: Hamilton committed 14 fouls to Williams’ five. In addition, two Continentals, Ali Clarke ’17 and Kayleigh Harris ’20, received yellow cards. Hamilton has little margin for error against the top teams in the conference, and in order to beat teams like Williams, the team must commit fewer fouls. The 2015 team struggled mightily away from home: while Hamilton lost just one game on Love Field in the entire 2015 season, they finished just 2-5-1 on the road. Whether or not the Continentals can win on the road may make or break this team. Key NESCAC road matches include Sept. 2 at Tufts, Sept. 8 at Amherst and Sept. 22 at Colby, which will be critical games in determining Hamilton’s playoff positioning. 

While the Continentals finished strong down the stretch of the 2015 season, they were plagued by a slow start. In order to avoid a repeat of last season, the team must rebound quickly from the Williams loss; they make the long trip to Lewiston, Maine, for another NESCAC contest against the Bobcats of Bates on Saturday, Sept. 10. Hamilton next plays at home on Saturday, Sept. 17, when they take on Trinity at 11 a.m. on Love Field. Last year, the Continentals finished 3-4-3 in NESCAC play, which put the team in eigth place heading into the playoffs. Last year, Hamilton had to take on the first place Ephs in Williamstown in the first round and were knocked out of the playoffs. They hope to perform better in the regular season this year and secure a home playoff game, so as to not suffer the same fate. 

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