Hamilton Advances to Semifinals with 6-1 Win Over Amherst
Courtesy Hamilton Sports Information
CLINTON, N.Y. - Hamilton College’s Marissa Halligan ’05 scored three goals to lead the Continentals to a 6-1 win against Amherst College in a New England Small College Athletic Conference Championships first round contest at Sage Rink on Saturday, Feb. 26.
The fourth-seeded Continentals (10-11-3) will play regular season champions Bowdoin College at Bowdoin in one semifinal on Saturday, March 5. The Polar Bears are ranked fourth in the nation. Fifth-seeded Amherst (8-12-5) lost 6-1 at Hamilton in the first round of the championships for the second straight year.
Halligan has 13 goals this season and is the sixth player to score three goals in one game in conference championships history. Halligan is fourth all-time at Hamilton with 109 career points. Caitlin Connelly '07 turned in a solid performance with 21 saves in 60 minutes of action. Emma Dunn '07 chipped in a goal and an assist. Kerry Leonard ’07 and Lindsay Bartz ’07 added third period tallies. Taylor Brady ’08 was credited with three assists and Olivia Vargo ’08 had two. Fifth-year head coach Shannon Bryant earned her 50th win with the Continentals.
Amherst’s power play goal was scored by Tes Siarnacki ’07 on an assist from Alena Harrison ’07 at the 16:57 mark of the second period. Lindsay Grabowski ’07 made 20 saves for the Jeffs, including 12 in the third period. The Jeffs are winless in four conference championship appearances.
Hamilton led 3-0 midway through the second period on Halligan's three goals. Dunn made the score 4-1 with her third goal this season just 3:08 into the third period. Leonard notched the Continentals' fifth goal and her seventh at 10:54. Bartz recorded her second goal with 5:09 left for the final score. Hamilton is 5-1-2 in its last eight games.
