Hamilton College
National Rank: No. 1
Overall Record: 20-0
Liberty League: 8-0
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 6
NCAA Tournament Record: 11-4
Head Coach: Patty Kloidt (8th season, 110-30)
Top-ranked and undefeated Hamilton makes its third straight appearance in the NCAA Division III semifinals after a 15-3 victory over Kenyon and a 14-9 win over Colby in its regional championship. The Liberty League champions, the Continentals received balanced scoring in its opening-round game against Kenyon, with 12 different players scoring at least one goal as Hamilton opened the game on a 15-0 run. Against Colby,
Anna Gravely posted four goals and one assist while
Sarah Bray contributed three goals and three assists as the Continentals led from start to finish.
Hamilton is 2-1 in the NCAA semifinals and final. In 2008, the Continentals defeated Salisbury 11-10 en route to winning the national title with its 13-6 win over Franklin & Marshall. Last season, Hamilton dropped a 16-13 decision to Franklin & Marshall in the semifinals.
For the season, goalie
Kate Fowler fronts a squad that leads Division III in scoring defense (5.85 goals per game). Individually, Fowler ranks second in the nation in goals-against average (6.19). Offensively, Bray has enjoyed an outstanding season, leading the team with 73 points on 28 goals and 45 assists.
Liz Rave has piled up 42 goals while
Rachel Friedman and Gravely have added 39 goals apiece.
Franklin & Marshall College
National Rank: No. 3
Overall Record: 16-3
Centennial Conference: 8-1
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 13
NCAA Tournament Record: 17-10
Head Coach: Lauren Paul (2nd season, 37-4)
Third-ranked and defending national champion Franklin & Marshall parlayed a pair of lopsided NCAA opening-round victories into its fourth consecutive appearance in the semifinals and its sixth overall. The Diplomats notched a 16-4 victory over SUNY Brockport in the regional semifinals before its 16-3 win over Mary Washington in the regional final.
F&M, the Centennial Conference champion, has outshot its opponents 53-26 in the NCAA tournament.
Blake Hargest has led the way with six goals and five assists while
Meredith Lussier has added six goals and one assist.
Sarah Vaneski has also lent a helping hand, dishing out nine assists – including six against Brockport – to go with a pair of goals. Goalie
Lidia Sanza has yielded just six goals while making 13 saves.
The Diplomats have reached the NCAA Division III championship game in each of the past three seasons and have captured the title in 2007 and 2009. In the semifinal round, F&M is 3-2, losing 7-6 to Ursinus in 1991 and 11-9 to The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in 1993 before picking up wins in its last three semifinal appearances: a 13-7 victory over Gettysburg in 2007, a 14-12 win over TCNJ in 2008, and a 16-13 triumph over Hamilton in 2009. Franklin & Marshall beat Salisbury 11-8 for the 2007 NCAA title before dropping a 13-6 decision to Hamilton in 2008. The Diplomats bested Salisbury 11-10 in overtime for the 2009 championship.
Sanza has been outstanding in goal for the Diplomats this season, posting a Division III-leading 6.08 goals-against average, helping F&M rank second in the nation in scoring defense (5.95 goals per game). Hargest and Lussier have paced the Diplomat scoring attack, with Hargest posting 89 points on 51 goals and 38 assists and Lussier compiling 82 points on 56 goals and 26 assists.
Salisbury University
National Rank: No. 2
Overall Record: 19-1
Capital Athletic Conference: 7-0
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 11
NCAA Tournament Record: 21-10
Head Coach: Jim Nestor (9th season, 155-20)
Second-ranked Salisbury will make its fourth straight NCAA Division III semifinal appearance and its seventh overall after knocking off Catholic 18-9 and The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) 12-7 in its regional bracket.
Allie Wheatley led the Sea Gulls, the Capital Athletic Conference champions, with seven goals over the two games while
Kim Cudmore had five goals and five assists.
Trish DiGirolomo added five goals and two assists for Salisbury, which led from start to finish in both of its NCAA victories.
The Sea Gulls are 3-6 all-time in the NCAA semifinals and final, reaching the national championship in 2005, 2007, and 2009. Salisbury’s last three semifinal games have all been decided by one goal: an 8-7 win over Middlebury in 2007, an 11-10 loss to Hamilton in 2008, and an 11-10 victory over Gettysburg in 2009. In Salisbury’s other three semifinal appearances, the Gulls defeated Colorado College 15-11 in 2005, lost 14-9 to TCNJ in 2004, and lost 19-4 to TCNJ in 2000. All three of Salisbury’s appearances in the title game have been decided by three goals or less with a 9-7 loss to TCNJ in 2005, an 11-8 loss to Franklin & Marshall in 2007, and an 11-10 overtime loss to Franklin & Marshall last season.
Cudmore has been Salisbury’s leading scorer for the season, piling up 85 points on 35 goals and 50 assists. Four other players have contributed to a highly-balanced scoring attack that ranks sixth in Division III in scoring offense (17.37 goals per game). DiGirolomo has scored 56 points (22 goals, 34 assists) while
Logan Bilderback has registered a team-leading 47 goals.
Jessica Chmielewski has added 54 points on 30 goals and 24 assists while
Beth Rhodey has added 41 goals.
Julie Ann Caulfield has been the primary goalie for a team that ranks sixth in scoring defense (7.26 goals per game).
Gettysburg College
National Rank: No. 4
Overall Record: 18-3
Centennial Conference: 9-0
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 10
NCAA Tournament Record: 13-9
Head Coach: Carol Cantele (18th season, 248-83)
Fourth-ranked Gettysburg cruised into the NCAA Division III semifinals for the fourth time in program history with a pair of convincing wins over the weekend at Clark Field. The Bullets topped Babson 18-5 before handling Trinity (Conn.) 17-3 while outshooting their opponents 64-30. Gettysburg, the Centennial Conference (CC) runner-up, trailed for a total of 18 seconds in its two NCAA opening-round victories. #Hollis Stahl# paced the Bullets with nine goals and one assist over the two games while #Hannah Church# added four goals and six assists. #Nina Emala# contributed six goals and two assists while #Kristen Krammer# allowed just eight goals while stopping 17 shots.
The Orange and Blue has gone 1-3 in its three previous semifinal and final appearances. In their debut semifinal showing in 2006, the Bullets defeated SUNY Cortland 11-7 before falling to The College of New Jersey 10-4 in the national championship game. In its other two semifinals, Gettysburg lost 13-7 to Franklin & Marshall in 2007 and 11-10 to Salisbury in 2009.
Gettysburg’s three losses have come to teams ranked in the national top 10. The team’s resume also sports wins over NCAA playoff participants Mary Washington, Catholic, Elizabethtown, Cabrini, and Franklin & Marshall.
Offensively, the duo of Emala and Stahl has led the Bullets, combining for 115 goals. Emala has racked up 80 points on 59 goals and 21 assists while Stahl has notched 71 points on 56 goals and 15 assists. #Jessica Crane# led the CC in caused turnovers this spring (44), is third on the team in goals (37), and is tied for second in assists (21). Goalkeeper Kristen Krammer owns a career-low 6.94 goals against average which ranks third in Division III. As a team, Gettysburg ranks third in the nation in scoring defense at 6.57 goals allowed per game.
