Men's Lacrosse team ends season with a win
by Lindsay Getman '10Despite struggling in the final stretch of the 2008 season, the Hamilton Men's Lacrosse team managed to finish with a win. After losing three out of four of their final home games, the Continentals went on the road to beat Vassar and chalk up their first Liberty League victory.
The team played their first of four consecutive home games on April 12 against Swarthmore College. It was Hamilton's closest loss of the season, with a number of players contributing points. Justin Williams '10 had two goals, while Marc Albu '08, Franke Holiber '10, Andy Simon and Austin Deyo '09 each had one. Frasher Kempe '08 and Kevin Coughlin '10 added two assists each. Even with stronger defense in the second half, the Continentals were unable to come back, and they fell to the Brewers, 6-7.
On April 15 Hartwick College came to the hill for the Continentals' final non-league game. The Continentals led for the entire game. They out-shot the Hawks 46-32. Albu and Max Akuamoah-Boateng '09 each had three goals. Coughlin, Simon and Peter Gerrity '09 each added one. Eli Leino '10 spent the game in goal and made an impressive ten saves. Alex Duncan '10 scored his first collegiate goal to round out the 10-7 victory.
The Continentals hosted Rensselaer on April 20. The Continentals had many strong performances by individuals on both offense and defense, but had difficulty bringing it all together. Karl Gruss '08 picked up five ground balls, while Ned Gilliss '08 and Rob Dickson '10 had two each. Alex Lee '11 won 8 of 10 faceoffs. The Red Hawks took advantage of their extra-man opportunities, converting three of seven, but the Continentals were 0-4.
Albu and Coughlin had two goals apiece, and Deyo, Gerrity, Holiber and John-Henry Forster '08 all added a tally. The Red Hawks dominated early in the game, scoring six goals in the first quarter and never again relinquishing the lead. Albu cut the lead to three with an unassisted goal with 5:50 left to go, but the Continentals were unable to rally. Hamilton dropped their fourth consecutive Liberty League contest, 8-11.
Next for the Continentals was nationally ranked Liberty League opponent Union College. The team came out strong, holding a 12-3 advantage in shots during the first 15 minutes. The game was tied up 4-4 at the half. Though Holiber tied a career high with four goals in the contest, Hamilton lost to the no. 20 team, 8-12. Leino had a respectable game in his second career start in goal, finishing with 11 saves.
The final game of the season was on April 26 at Vassar. For Forster, Gruss, Albu, Gilliss, Kempe, David Pasternak '08 and Anthony Tracy '08 it was their last game in a Hamilton uniform. The Brewers came out strong, scoring two unanswered points in the first quarter and preventing a single shot from the Continentals. Holiber, who had three goals in the game, fired back with two consecutive goals in the second quarter to tie up the game. Akuamoah-Boateng, Gerrity and Quillan Reed '11 each had one goal to pull off the 6-5 win. Leino was in goal once again, and finished with nine saves. Leino's unnecessary roughness penalty made for a few tense moments, but Pasternak did admirably in his first collegiate minutes, even making a save in a little over a minute in goal.
The 2008 season certainly had its ups and downs, but the Continentals managed to make the seniors' last game a memorable one. Finishing 6-8 on the season and 1-5 in the Liberty League, the team will look to build upon their hard work this season. With four of the five top scorers returning next year, the team will find experienced offensive leadership to supplement the skill of the incoming freshman class. In goal, the Continentals will rely again on a healthy Christian Kunhardt '10, with the added security of Leino as back up. The Hamilton community should continue to support the men's lacrosse program as they improve in the 2009 season.