Sports

W. lacrosse sends message with win over Wesleyan

By Joe Jensen '15

It’s that time of year again: spring sports are starting. Hamilton’s women’s lacrosse team is looking to keep to their winning ways coming off an overall record of 9-8 and even going as far as the semi-finals in last year’s NESCAC championship.

This year, Hamilton will be led by captains Kathleen D’Antonio ’14  and Kathryn Maiorano ’14 as well as seniors Emily Brodsky, Lauren Brady and Alice Grant.

When asked about her expectations for the season, D’ Antonio said, “We expect to be able to compete with every team we face.” Although the Continentals will face a tough schedule, it is nothing they aren’t already prepared for, as D’ Antonio said, “We worked hard in the offseason by lifting, running and preparing our stick skills for the season. Now we are holding each other accountable to continue this hard work ethic so we will be able to compete at our highest potential.”

Rather than being dependent on a small handful of stars, D’Antonio believes the Continentals’ depth and the joint effort of the entire roster will be the catalyst for a successful season.  She emphasized this point by adding, “It’s truly our depth that gives us our greatest advantage.” This year they start the season ranked 15th in Division III.

Hamilton took the field for the first time this past Saturday against NESCAC opponent Wesleyan University. The win was truly a team effort, as six different players contributed goals and three additional players recorded assists. The Continentals quickly surrendered a goal, but it would prove to be a back and forth game. Hamilton received their first goal of the season at the hands of Caroline McCarthy ’16. They later took their first lead of the game as Maiorano notched an unassisted goal with 22 minutes left in the half.

Wesleyan rallied back, but the Continentals answered one more time and went into halftime tied at 3-3. In the second half, Hamilton began to round into form as they surged to a lead of 7-4. Brodsky played a major role in Hamilton’s run, scoring two goals in the span of only five minutes.

Wesleyan did not fold after the momentum shift, however, battling back with a 3-0 run to tie the game at 7-7 with twelve minutes left. With a little under six minutes left, Ashleigh Stephan ’15 buried her second goal of the game and the Continentals held on to start their season off with an 8-7 victory.

On the defensive side, Grant and Hannah Rubin ’17 played crucial roles. Grant caused three turnovers while Rubin made six saves, four of which were in the second half.

When asked what contributed to the team’s success, Brodsky answered, “Our team was successful because we worked hard till the end of the game, and wore down our opponent in transition by playing very high pressure across the field.”

She also recognized the defense’s role in stating, “[They] came up with some huge stops at the end of the game that gave us momentum to finish it out.” There is a lot of promise for this year as she continued, “It is going to be an awesome season with a team that loves to compete.”

The Continentals now looks ahead to next weekend, when they will take on conference foe Colby at home on March 8.

Hamilton will also travel to Clermont, FL during spring break for training. There, they will also face off against Babson and NESCAC rival Amherst.

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