May 2, 2013
The Hamilton women’s lacrosse team is starting to gain a phenomenal reputation around the NESCAC. For the second consecutive season, the Conts became the only lower-seeded team to advance from the quarterfinals, in the process upsetting third- seeded and sixth-ranked Bowdoin, 10-9. Hamilton avenged a regular season overtime loss to the Polar Bears, also a closely contested 10-9 result. Following the win, the Conts will face Trinity, the unbeaten top-seeded team that ended their run last season, in the NESCAC Championship Semifinal this weekend.
Coach Kloidt believes the team controlled the game’s rhythm in the rematch, maintaining composure against Bowdoin’s havoc-wreaking defense and stifling the opposition’s offensive possessions. “We played a much better game this past weekend than we did in the regular season,” said Kloidt. “We controlled most of the game with good possessions that disrupted their offensive rhythm and really wore down their defense. We had too many momentum breakers with our turnovers in the first game.”
Coming in, both teams were aware that Hamilton’s ability to sustain possession time would play a critical factor in competing against Bowdoin’s defense, which caused the most turnovers in the NESCAC. After turning over 18 balls during the regular season loss, the Conts committed just nine last Saturday.
Limiting turnovers is one sign of the team’s tremendous growth in its mental toughness. Emphasized since the preseason camps, execution in clutch situations has not always come easily for the team this year, with several losses snowballing out of control. But leaders such as top scorer Rachel Friedman ’13 and goalie Dewi Caswell ’14 have turned around the team’s mentality, with their steady play serving as a constant throughout an uneven season. “It’s been kind of a wild roller coaster of a season,” reflected Caswell. “We’ve had some strokes of bad luck, but we got all of that out of the way and we’re ready to come out hard and keep playing.”
Caswell in particular came up with several huge saves on Saturday, including a point blank free-position save with less than two minutes to go. “I love the big pressure situations or the one-on-one situations in games; they’re absolutely my favorite part of the game,” said the junior goalie on her timely saves. “I just try to stay in the moment…I just try to clear my head and do it and then move on to the next play. It’s not a particularly romantic athletic philosophy, but I love it. Being in goal is a huge adrenaline kick.”
This week, the Conts must continue to draw on their mental maturity to pull off another upset against tournament favorite Trinity. Hamilton lost to Trinity 4-8 during the regular season just two weeks ago in blustery conditions. Unsurprisingly, Coach Kloidt believes a huge factor will be the team not beating itself, as well as sustaining poise when inevitable adversity occurs during the game.
“We have to carry over our winning attitude and mental state,” said Kloidt. “Just believing in our game plan and focus on executing it. We are the ultimate underdog going into a NESCAC final four with three teams ranked in the top ten. It’s funny, because it’s harder to win a NESCAC championship than it is a national championship, but we’ll certainly give it our best shot.”
For seniors like Friedman, the sudden death postseason means any game could be their last, though Hamilton does have a chance of qualifying for the Division III tournament after conference play ends. Still, the senior captain is doing everything she can to keep her team’s season going, as well as solidifying her legacy as one of the greatest scorers in school history.
“In order to beat Trinity, we need to come out fighting one hundred percent of the time. We have to be fired up but at the same time maintain composure. I think finishing my free position shots is something that is crucial to both my individual performance and the performance of the team. We need to come out on top of all 50-50 plays (ground balls, draw controls, etc.) Most importantly, we need to believe we can win and forget that they are the number one team in the nation. On any given day any one can win.” Following Friedman’s positive mentality, the NESCAC semifinals this Saturday are sure to be an exciting and memorable sporting event.
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