Athletics

Varsity Sports

Women's Field Hockey

Overview

Many new faces will see significant playing time for the Hamilton College field hockey team in 2012. Head coach Gillian McDonald said goodbye to eight seniors -- many of whom were four-year starters -- that graduated in May. The Class of 2012 was responsible for 38 wins, including two in the postseason, and the program's first NCAA Division III championship appearance in 2009. That class played in the postseason all four years, won a conference regular season title in 2009 and posted a team-record 13 wins in 2010. Now it's up to the current student-athletes to continue the winning tradition. Charlotte Lescroart '13 and Leah Cairns '13 are the seniors and team captains.

The Continentals competed in the NESCAC for the first time last year, and qualified for the conference championship quarterfinals. One of the highlights was a 2-1 victory against nationally ranked conference rival Amherst College on Sept. 24. Hamilton plays all 10 of the other teams in the conference this year, and the NESCAC champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA championship. In 2011, three NESCAC teams advanced to the quarterfinals of the national tournament, and one played in the title game. Two NESCAC programs have combined to win four national titles, and six have appeared in the NCAA championship. The Continentals host Trinity College (Sept. 8), Bates College (Sept. 29), Williams College (Oct. 2), Bowdoin College (Oct. 13) and Colby College (Oct. 14) in conference action at Campus Road Athletic Field. Hamilton plays half its 14 games on a lighted, all-weather AstroTurf field. The Continentals were a member of the Liberty League from 1995 to 2010.

The Hamilton offense lost 2009 All-American Erin McNally '12 and Mary Lancaster '12 to graduation. McNally was on the North Atlantic Region all-region team all four years, and was NESCAC all-conference at midfield in 2011. She finished her career ranked third with 62 points and tied for second with 24 assists on the team's all-time list. Lancaster ended up fourth with 23 career goals. Nikki Haskins '14 ranked seventh in the NESCAC with 11 goals and tied for 11th place with 24 points last year. Haskins is already fifth in program history with 21 goals. Caroline Clarke '14 and Gabriele Lenihan '15 should help as well.

On defense, Marisa Spagnolo '12 is gone after a solid career that was capped by all-region and all-conference honors in 2011. Cairns returns after she started all 15 games last year, and Madison Molho '14 started five games in the back. Victoria Trentini '15 (2.32 gaa, .770 save pct.) ranked third in the NESCAC with 117 saves and played every minute of every game in the cage as a rookie.

2010 All-America forward Colleen Callaghan '11 enjoyed one of the best careers in program history. Callaghan holds team records for most goals, assists and points in a career, and most goals and points in a season. She tied the team record for assists in a season and is ranked ninth in assists per game for a career on the NCAA Division III list.

The Continentals set team records for wins and goals (55) in 2010. Hamilton finished second in the Liberty League standings at 6-1, and made its third straight trip to the league championship. In the semifinals, the Continentals edged William Smith College 2-1 in double overtime at home. Hamilton went on to lose to Skidmore College in the championship game for the second year in a row. The Continentals ended up at No. 15 in the final coaches poll, and Callaghan played in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III Senior Game in November.

2009 started with a pair of four-goal wins and ended with the team's first trip to the NCAA championship. Despite a loss in the first round of the national tournament, the year was anything but a disappointment. The Continentals finished with an overall mark of 12-5, and earned a share of the league's regular season title for the first time. The team hosted a postseason contest for the first time since 1989, and defeated St. Lawrence University 1-0 to advance to their first championship game. McDonald and assistant Cheryl Casey received league co-coaching staff of the year honors, and McNally became the second All-American in program history.

Hamilton finished 2008 with an overall record of 8-7 and qualified for the four-team league tournament for the first time. During the regular season, the Continentals shut out a Rensselaer team that was nationally ranked at the time, and won a thrilling overtime contest at William Smith that clinched the team's first postseason appearance since 1995.

The program was started in 1978 and won four games that fall. Hamilton posted a record of 8-6 the following year in the first season of playing a full varsity schedule. The Continentals reached new heights in 1990 and 1991 when they won 10 games each year. The 1991 team ended the season ranked 10th in the region and featured third team All-America goalkeeper Anne Hughes '92. Hughes allowed just seven goals on 77 shots for a .909 save percentage and owned a stingy 0.62 goals against average.

Strong academic performance is an integral part of the program. Four student-athletes made the NESCAC fall all-academic team in 2011, and eight players earned a spot on the NFHCA Division III Academic Squad. Hamilton also received the NFHCA National Academic Team Award for the ninth straight year for achieving a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher during the first semester of the academic year. Callaghan made the 2010 College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-District Women's At-Large Team for the District I College Division.