The Hamilton College field hockey team wrapped up its regular season Sunday afternoon with a 4-1 non-league win over visiting Utica. With the win, the Continentals clinch a winning season heading into next weekend’s NESCAC Championship quarterfinals.
Box score
Merisa Dion '17 scored a pair of goals for the Continentals (9-6 overall), who snapped a three-game losing streak to the Pioneers.
Hamilton’s two seniors were honored before the game and both contributed to a Continental goal. Casey Brown ’16 opened the scoring 13:51 in and Aubrey Coon ’16 assisted on a goal late in the first half that sent the hosts into intermission with a 3-0 lead.
Brown’s 10th goal of the year came on a pass from Eva Rosencrans ’17 that she shot into the upper right corner. Dion picked up the first of her two goals 11 minutes later, taking advantage of a scramble in front of the cage by pushing a rebound into the net after Utica’s Kells Casey had saved a shot by Emma Anderson '17.
Sarah Stinebaugh ’19 scored her first collegiate goal with 1:54 left in the opening period, tipping in Coon’s shot inside the right post.
Utica (6-11) got on the board 10 minutes into the second half when Colleen Dowling scored her fourth goal of the year after receiving a penalty corner from Tori Couture.
Dion gave Hamilton its three-goal lead back four minutes later with her seventh goal of the season. Kells came out of the net to save a shot by Margaret Revera '18 and Dion sent the rebound inside the left post, just out of reach of a Pioneer defender.
Two minutes later the visitors nearly got on the board again on a breakaway by Rylee Meelan, but Hamilton’s Mary Kalb ’19 came out of the cage to stonewall Meelan’s attempt. Kalb made five saves in picking up her second win of the weekend.
Hamilton outshot the Pioneers 27-8 with Casey making nine saves.
The Continentals, whose nine wins are the program’s highest total since 2010, open the postseason Saturday. Hamilton has earned the seventh seed and will play a NESCAC quarterfinal at second-seeded Middlebury at a time to be determined.
