Hamilton holds off Knights, 3-1 in women's soccer

Potsdam, NY – Alex Rimmer scored a pair of goals five minutes apart midway through the second half to lift Hamilton College to a 3-1 Liberty League victory over the Clarkson University Women’s Soccer team Saturday afternoon at Hantz Turf Field.

The Golden Knights fell to 4-11 overall and 0-6 in conference games, while Hamilton improved to 8-1-3 overall and 4-1-1 in league contests. Clarkson will close out the conference schedule on Sunday when it hosts William Smith College at 1:00 pm.

It took a while for both teams to get their footing at Hantz Turf Field, as neither team produced a shot for the first eight minutes of the contest. By the time Hamilton got around to its fifth shot of the half, the Continentals were able to produce their first score. The Continentals scored their goal late in the first half when Alex Rimmer sent a pass from near the sideline and sent it back into the middle of the field just above the penalty area. There, Anne Graveley made a move that confused both her defender and stopped the momentum of Clarkson goalkeeper Stephanie Collins (Colton, NY). Graveley, then took a right-footed shot on the ground that just eluded the reach of Collins, giving the Continentals a 1-0 lead at 27:53.

In the waning moments of the half, the Knights would take a couple of shots on the Hamilton frame that would sail wide of their intended target. That momentum would continue in the opening half, but once again, Clarkson was unable to cash in, including a shot in traffic in front by Alix Petitti (Amsterdam, NY) that was chipped over the crossbar.

Hamilton would take advantage by tallying a pair of insurance goals midway through the half. After a flurry of shots was denied by Collins and two shots hit the crossbar, the Continentals scored twice, both goals coming from Alex Rimmer. The sophomore striker hit a hard groundball from the right corner of the penalty area that rolled in at 63:50, and then she struck a hard shot from the opposite side from approximately 25 yards out that jumped into the top far corner of the goal at 68:29.

Clarkson broke its scoreless drought with a goal at 79:58. Down near the end line, the ball squirted from Caitlyn Hennessey (East Syracuse, NY) won the fight for the ball and it bounded out to the front where it squirted off the foot of Nicole Johnson (Massena, NY) and bounced over the line and into the back of the Hamilton net.

Hamilton finished the game with a 19-7 edge in shots, including a 10-3 lead in shots on goal as Collins made seven saves while Liza Gergenti and Hailey Bobin combined to make two stops for the Continentals. Clarkson did hold a 6-4 lead in corner kick chances.