SAINTS, No. 6 CONTINENTALS REMAIN UNDEFEATED; TIE 0-0

Sept. 26: In a battle between the only two teams in the Liberty League who remain unbeaten, the St. Lawrence University women’s soccer team put on a spectacular defensive performance Friday afternoon as the Saints held off No. 6 Hamilton College for 110 minutes en route to an exciting 0-0 tie in their 2008 conference opener on Sandy MacAllaster Field.

The Saints, now 6-0-2, maintain their unblemished record as they head into another tough contest with No. 11 William Smith, scheduled for Saturday afternoon.  This is the best start St. Lawrence has had in nearly a decade.

The nationally ranked Continentals, who now stand at 5-0-1, remain undefeated in 21 consecutive regular season games, a record that began in the 2006 season.  Their only other tie in their now 19-0-2 streak comes from nearly a year ago, when Hamilton and William Smith tied 1-1 in conference play.

St. Lawrence was able to contain Hamilton, a team that averages nearly 25 shots a game, to only 14 in the entire contest.  The Continentals held a slight lead in shots, with the Saints only tallying 11, but the Scarlet and Brown held a 5-3 edge in shots on goal, as well as a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks. But it was each team’s defensive strategies that contained the other’s offense, as St. Lawrence and the Continentals each had several scoring opportunities but were unable to find the back of the net, giving both St. Lawrence keeper Abby van Geldern (Rowayton, CT/Brien McMahon), and Hamilton’s Kate Fowler a shutout a piece.

Early on, an excited Hamilton squad controlled the ball well until the middle of the period, as the Saints found their way into Continental territory, blasting a few shots towards goal but were unable to score as each sailed just high of the post.  The two teams traded possession throughout much of the rest of the game, each with their fair share of chances and moments of extreme pressure, but as time expired in the 110th minute, the squads walked off the field in a scoreless double overtime tie.

Hamilton’s Erica Dressler found herself alone up in front of the Saints’ net several times and was able to fire five shots off for her squad, while six other Continentals accounted for the team’s other shots.  Seven St. Lawrence players took shots on net, including junior back Rachelle Doucette (Cumberland, ME/Greely H.S), senior midfielder and captain Lauren Sischo (Rodman, NY/South Jefferson), sophomore back Nicky Hynes (Carleton Place, ONT/The Kent School), sophomore forward Lizzie Bogosian (Manlius, NY/Loomis Chaffee), junior midfielder Becca Townsend (Stockton, NJ/North Hunterdon), junior midfielder Stanzi McGlynn (Montoursville, PA/Montoursville Area) and junior forward Megan Howard (Shelburne, VT/Champlain Valley Union).

“I couldn’t be more pleased with our team’s defensive performance today,” said Saints Head Coach Franco Bari.  “Every single player who stepped foot on that field put a lot of energy and effort towards into preserving the shutout. I n the same breath, our offensive efforts were fantastic; we had some great scoring opportunities and I have to give a lot of credit to Hamilton’s defending.”

St. Lawrence is scheduled to play the nationally-ranked Herons on Saturday, September 27, at 2:00pm on Sandy MacAllaster Field.