Box Score
SCHENECTADY, NY -- Junior midfielder Liz Rave (Huntington, NY) scored four goals to lead #8 Hamilton to a 14-8 win over #13 William Smith in a Liberty League Championship Semifinal Game at Union College's Frank Bailey Field Friday. The Continentals (13-2), the defending league and NCAA champions, will face host Union Saturday at 2 p.m. for the title and automatic NCAA bid. Union downed Rochester earlier in the day, 16-7. Saturday's title game is at 2 p.m.
Anne Gravely (Queensbury, NY) scored three goals and Kaillie Briscoe (Orangeville, ONT) added two goals and an assist for the Continentals, while goaltender Katie Fowler (Branford, CT) made 11 saves in the victory. Fowler entered the game ranked seventh in the nation in goals against average at 7.64. This will be Hamilton's fourth straight title game appearance, and they have won the last two championship games over Union.
William Smith got two goals each from Molly Fitzgerald (Sudbury, MA), Kara Grogan (West Simsbury, CT) and Rosie Scheibel (Auburn, NY), and Becky Josefiak (West Seneca, NY) stopped six Hamilton shots.
The Continentals outshot the Herons, 35-16, and had a 27-17 ground ball advantage while forcing 28 turnovers. Hamilton also was successful on 19 of 21 clear attempts while William Smith won 15 of the 24 draw controls.
Hamilton at one point had an 18-1 shot advantage and jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Three of those goals came in the first 7:03 of the contest. William Smith got on the board at the seven minute mark and started a streak of five straight goals to end the half, with the lst coming on Scheibel's 17th of the year with just 31 seconds remaining in the period. Hamilton outshot William Smith, 22-8 in the first 30 minutes of play and had forced 14 turnovers in the first half.
But Rave, one of six Liberty League First Team all stars playing in this game, notched her second of the day on a free position 1:31 into the second half. Briscoe's 34th at 24:20 made it 9-5, but that was ansered by Fitzgerald's second and 42nd of the year at 22:02. After a Rave free position tally and a goal by Bray (her 21st) made it 11-6 with 19:20 left, Scheibel notched #18 at 15:39 to get the Herons back to within four at 11-7. But Hamilton put it away with three scores from 8:07 to 1:47, with Rave's 37th of the year giving the #2 seed Continentals a seven goal advantage similar to the opening of the game.
Hamilton will look to rebound from last Friday's 15-4 loss at Union, and last loss a title game to the Dutchwomen in 2006 as the teams will face each other in the title contest for the fourth straight year.
