After a narrow loss against Williams in the NESCAC Championship Quarterfinal, Hamilton’s Women’s Soccer team’s season has come to an end. The game was decided in a penalty shootout after both teams remained scoreless in two overtimes following regulation where they were tied 1–1. The Williams Ephs advanced on penalty kicks 4–2, marking an unfortunate ending for the Continentals. Overall, Hamilton went 8–4–4, going 3–4–3 against other teams in their conference.
The team scored roughly 1.4 goals per game, scoring 22 goals throughout the whole season. Erin Rayhill ’25 statistically led the team on offense with four goals as well as four assists. Maddie Ledbury ’26 and Olivia Morrow ’24 tied for second in total goals scored with three each, while Olivia Zubarik ’25 had three assists on the season. The Continentals scored in all but three of their games, scoring more than once nine times and scoring more than twice once in their resounding win over Utica University.
Defensively, the Continentals held their opponent scoreless in regulation six times, with their opponents averaging just under 1.1 goals per game. Hamilton’s defense was anchored by their two primary goalkeepers, Nieve Tonna ’26 and Clare Robinson ’25. Tonna independently played ten games including the playoff game against Williams, while Robinson independently played three games. In both the fifth and ninth games, they each played one half. First-year Olivia Connolly ’27 played goalkeeper in the final game of the regular season against Mount Saint Mary in a win. Tonna led the group in saves with 55, allowing just 12 goals in the 12 games she played. Robinson had 17 saves with just four goals allowed in the five games she played in. Both Tonna and Robinson had a save percentage of just over 80 percent, which allowed the Continentals to almost always have a chance late in games.
The Continentals started the season almost as well as a team could, going 5–0–3 in their first eight games. Both their first game of the season against Williams and their second against Trinity ended in ties. The first game was sealed by a save by Robinson in the ninetieth minute to preserve the even score, while the second game saw Morrow score the team’s first goal of the season. Afterward, the Continentals caught fire with a three-game winning streak, beating Oswego State, Middlebury and Utica University. The next game against Tufts, a start of a stretch of five in-conference matchups on their schedule, saw Ledbury even the score with just under ten minutes remaining, preserving their unbeaten season up to that point. Two more wins against Wesleyan and Connecticut College capped off the Continentals’ dominant first half of the season. However, in their final seven games of the season (not including their playoff loss), the Continentals went 3–4, losing to four NESCAC teams: Bates, Colby, Bowdoin and Amherst. But because of their very strong start to the season, they were still able to make the playoffs.
Two seasons ago, the Continentals had a very successful season, going 14–3–2 and losing in the second round of the NCAA Championship after being ranked 17th nationally. Last year they had less success, going 7–4–4 and not making the playoffs at all. This year was definitely a great step in the right direction as they won more games, made the playoffs and had a great chance to make the second round.
Captain Lauren Hanna ’25 summarized the season by saying, “Even though the ending of the season really stung, I think we’re all happy with how the season went…Team chemistry and morale were really great this year, which definitely helped us on the field as well.” This optimism and belief in the team can hopefully continue Hamilton’s push to further success in the coming years. Looking forward to next season, Hanna said, “I think the biggest thing we can improve on is playing both halves — both halves of a game and both halves of the season…We just need to be more consistent and I think our mental game plays a big role in this.” She emphasized that this consistency and mental toughness is what will help the team when things are not going their way. After a good season with a tough loss in the playoffs, the Continentals have a solid foundation to build off of for the next year, where they must continue where their two graduating captains, Katie Powell ’24 and Kelly Grossman ’24, have left off. The Continentals were consistently competitive in every game, with many great moments throughout the season, which is certainly encouraging going forward.
