Hamilton College’s Katie D’Antonio '14 tallied two goals and one assist and the nationally ranked No. 15 Continentals edged Bates College 9-8 in a NESCAC game at Hamilton’s Steuben Field on April 6.
The Continentals (5-5 overall, 3-4 NESCAC) held off a furious Bates rally as the Bobcats scored three goals in the last three minutes, including two in the final 23.8 seconds. But Hamilton's Margaret Gabriel '16 won the final draw control and ran out the last 9 seconds. The Continentals had lost their last three games -- all to nationally ranked opponents.
D’Antonio leads the team with 23 goals and entered the game tied for fifth in the NESCAC. Both Gabriel and Caroline McCarthy '16 notched a pair of goals, and Emily Brodsky '14 added a goal and an assist. Lauren Brady '14 and Hannah Hoar '13 recorded one goal apiece, and Rachel Friedman '13 passed out one assist.
Gabriel led the way with three draw controls and Alice Grant '14 scooped up four ground balls. Madison Beres '15 played the first game of her collegiate career in goal and made two saves. Hamilton’s regular two goalies were not available due to injuy.
Moriah Greenstein '16 scored a game-high five goals for the Bobcats. Emma Getsinger '15 and Wally Pierce '14 had one goal and one assist apiece. Bridget Meedzan '14 finished with one goal and SooHee Yoon '14 was credited with an assist.
Pierce posted a team-best four ground balls and three draw controls. She entered the day tied for fourth in the NESCAC in draw controls. Hannah Jeffrey '16 stopped six shots in each half and finished with 12 saves.
Defense was on display in the first half as the teams combined for just three goals in the opening 30 minutes. Bates took a 2-0 lead 7 minutes, 4 seconds in after two goals by Greenstein. Yoon got the assist on the first goal and Pierce was credited with the assist on the second. Hamilton answered 88 seconds later on an unassisted goal by D’Antonio. The Bobcats took a 2-1 advantage into the break.
The Continentals opened the second half by scoring six of the first seven goals for a 7-3 lead with 17:50 left. Friedman found McCarthy in front of the net for a 2-2 tie just 1:46 into the second. Bates reclaimed the lead 5:16 into the period on Pierce’s goal from Getsinger.
Hamilton scored the next five goals and seized the lead for good. Brady scored a goal on the run from a difficult angle on the right-hand side and tied the score at 3-3. Brodsky gave the Continentals their first lead on her unassisted goal with 22:55 left. With 21:12 remaining, D’Antonio held the ball behind the net and found McCarthy cutting towards the goal for her second of the afternoon. Gabriel made it 6-3 after she took the ball from behind the net and slipped a shot by Jeffrey with 18:16 to go, and Hoar scored 26 seconds later after she received a pass from Brodsky.
Bates (4-6, 2-5) scored five of the last seven goals and cut the Hamilton lead to one in the final minute. The Bobcats pulled within 7-5 after an unassisted goal by Meezdan with 15:41 left and a free-position goal by Getsinger with 13:09 to go.
Hamilton forced five Bates turnovers during the next 10 minutes, the last of which resulted in a goal for Gabriel that gave the Continentals an 8-5 lead with 3:16 remaining. Pierce won the ensuing draw control for Bates and Greenstein scored a free-position goal that made it 8-6.
Hamilton won the next draw control and ran more than two minutes off the clock. With 38.7 seconds left, D’Antonio scored on a wide-open goal while Jeffrey was out of the crease marking a defender. But Bates won the next two draw controls, and both resulted in free-position goals for Greenstein with 23.8 and 11.9 seconds left, respectively. Gabriel's third draw control ended the Bobcats' comeback bid.
The Continentals almost doubled up Bates in shots (25-14) and ground balls (18-10). Hamilton held an 11-8 advantage in draw controls. The Bobcats were able to stay in the game by scoring on 4 of 6 free-position shots, while Hamilton was scoreless in four tries.
Hamilton takes a break from conference action on Tuesday, April 9, when they host Skidmore College. Bates returns home to play NESCAC rival Tufts University on Tuesday, April 16.
