Athletics

Varsity Sports

Women's Lacrosse

Overview

* 2010 NCAA runners-up

* 2009 NCAA semifinalists

* Three-time NCAA quarterfinalists (2000-01, 2007)

* 23 All-America awards

* 54-5 at home since the start of 2006

* 318 victories since 1979

* 2008 CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American

Rachel Friedman '13 leads the Hamilton College women's lacrosse program into its second year in the NESCAC in 2013. Friedman was voted to the all-conference and Empire Region all-region second teams last year. She was also one of seven Hamilton women's lacrosse student-athletes on the 2012 NESCAC Spring All-Academic team. Seven starters from last year's team are back, including six of the top seven point producers. But most of the defensive unit from the last four seasons has graduated. Lauren Sokol '12 was a two-time all-American on the back line, made the 2012 NESCAC All-Conference first team and played in last year's North-South senior all-star game. Friedman, Mariah Monks '13, Hannah Hoar '13 and Paige Engeldrum '13 are the four seniors on the roster.

The NESCAC is one of the top athletic conferences in NCAA Division III, and women's lacrosse is no exception. Four NESCAC teams played in the 2012 NCAA Championship. Two of those squads advanced to the semifinals and one captured the national championship. The NESCAC boasts seven NCAA titles and seven national runner-up finishes in women's lacrosse. Seven teams were ranked in the coaches Top 20 preseason poll, including Hamilton at No. 18. The conference tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA championship.

The Continentals finished with an overall record of 7-10 last year, but six of the 10 losses were by one goal. Hamilton ended up in seventh place in the NESCAC standings with a 4-6 conference record and qualified for the NESCAC championship quarterfinals. The Continentals went on the road to upset No. 2 seed Colby College 9-4 before they were edged 9-8 in overtime at top seed and eventual national champion Trinity College in the semifinals.

In 2012, Friedman tied for 10th place in the NESCAC with 38 goals and 51 points, and tied for fourth with 53 draw controls. She is a two-time all-region selection and owns the team record for goals in a season with 70 in 2011. Friedman is in fourth place on the team's all-time list with 149 career goals. Katie D'Antonio '14 tied for fourth place in the conference with 12 free-position goals. D'Antonio ended up with a total of 27 goals and added 14 assists. Emily Brodsky '14 netted 19 goals, Kathryn Maiorano '14 chipped in 15, Madison Beres '15 tallied 14 and Monks added 12.

On defense, all-Americans Sokol and Meg Pengue '12 have graduated. Pengue set a program record with 51 caused turnovers in 2011. Engeldrum started all but one game last year and recorded 28 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers. Dewi Caswell '14 and Kari Koga '15 are the goalies. Caswell started every game and posted a 9.43 goals against average along with a save percentage of .404 in 732 minutes. Koga relieved Caswell in 10 games and registered a 9.81 GAA and .433 save percentage in 312 minutes.

With appearances in the NCAA championship every year from 2007 to 2011, including a national title in 2008, Hamilton has firmly established itself as a major women's lacrosse power in Division III. Hamilton won 38 straight games at home from April 26, 2006, to May 16, 2010.

The team's rich tradition dates back to the program's start in 1979. Hamilton has made 27 postseason appearances, including seven in the NCAA championship, and won more than 300 games. The Continentals are 13-6 in NCAA play and have reached the quarterfinals six times. Seventeen players have received a total of 23 all-America awards, including two-time first team honorees Sarah Bray '11 and Nicole Tetreault '08, and career goals, assists and points leader Kaillie Briscoe '09. Head coach Patty Kloidt was selected the 2008 Division III Coach of the Year by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA).

In 2011, the Continentals won 18 games and advanced to the second round of the NCAA championship. Hamilton opened the season with a win against Gettysburg College, and the Bullets went on to capture the national championship. Hamilton won 16 straight games at one point, scored 273 goals and allowed just 130 in 20 games.

Twenty-one Hamilton women's lacrosse players made history on May 18, 2008, when the Continentals dominated the reigning NCAA Division III champions -- Franklin & Marshall College -- by a 13-6 score in a rain-soaked national title game at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. Bray was named the most outstanding player of the championship after she posted five goals and one assist against F & M. The amazing run to the championship was no fluke. Hamilton knocked off traditional powerhouse programs Middlebury College and Salisbury University to advance to the final. The Continentals finished their memorable season with a 21-1 mark and set a team record with those 21 victories. The record was matched just two years later when Hamilton won its first 21 games before the Continentals suffered a one-goal loss to Salisbury in the 2010 NCAA championship game.

Hamilton competed in the Liberty League from 1996 to 2011. The Continentals won six league regular season titles and captured five straight league championship crowns from 2007 to 2011. Bray was selected the league's offensive player of the year in 2011. Pengue was named defensive player of the year and D'Antonio was voted rookie of the year as Hamilton swept the major awards. Tetreault received league player of the year honors in 2007 and 2008, and Liz Longley '07 picked up the hardware in 2006. Kloidt and her coaching staff were honored by the league in 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2011. The Continentals won 49 of their last 50 games against league opponents.

Strong academic performance is important to coach Kloidt. Tetreault was voted a 2008 first team academic all-American on the women's at-large team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Bray was CoSIDA third team academic all-district for New England and New York in 2011, and Liz Rave '10 earned the same award in 2010.

Hamilton plays its home games at Steuben Field on the site's artificial grass surface, which was installed in 2009. Steuben Field has been the football team's home for more than 100 years. The Continentals will play eight home games in 2013, including the home opener against Tufts University on March 9. Other NESCAC home games are against Wesleyan University (March 10), Bowdoin College (March 22), Middlebury College (April 3), Bates College (April 6) and Trinity (April 20). Hamilton travels to Florida during spring break and plays Colby College and Buffalo State College.