Victories abound in a great week for Skidmore athletes

It was another triumphant week for Skidmore fall sports, as field hockey and men’s soccer both rattled off a pair of wins and women’s soccer notched its first win of the season. Golf and men’s tennis had impressive showings in their first tournaments of the fall and volleyball continued its preparations for Liberty League play at the Union Invitational.

Sam Skott ’15 tied school records with five goals in a game and 10 points in a game, leading fourth-ranked field hockey to a 7-1 win against Babson College after Saturday’s 8-2 win over New Paltz. Skott netted a hat trick in the first half and tacked on two more in the second to seal the Thoroughbreds (5-0) fifth straight win. Dani DeGregory ’16 tallied two goals and added two assists in both games and Melanie Webb ’15 had two goals and two assists against New Paltz. Skidmore has been dominant this season outscoring opponents 39-6, including a 23-1 scoring margin in the first half.  The team opens conference play at RPI at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20.

Women’s soccer rallied late, scoring two goals in the final 18:26 in a 2-1 come-from-behind win at Oneonta St. The Red Dragons converted on a penalty kick in the first half to pull ahead, but Emily Saliterman ’17 scored the equalizer in the 71stminute. Wray Gabel  ’17 potted her first goal of the season just over 10 minutes later, taking a feed from Arena Manning ’16 and lifting a shot just under the crossbar to propel the team to its first win of the season. The Thoroughbreds (1-3) host a pair of home games this week, taking on Castleton State at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, and facing Plattsburgh St. at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20.

Men’s soccer notched key non-conference wins against Sage and Nazareth. Augustine Okoye ’18 had a hand in both of the team’s goals against Sage, scoring the opening goal and assisting on the second goal. Derrick Yam ’17 turned away four shots, recording the team’s first shutout of the season. Adam Beek ’15 tallied for the fourth time in as many games and assisted on Nick Masiero’s ’17 game-winning goal against Nazareth. Okoye produced another multi-point game with a goal and an assist and Kevin Santos ’18 scored his first career goal. The team plays its first Liberty League contest at RPI at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16.

Kit Sanderson ’16 won the “B” Flight Singles at the Middlebury Invitational to highlight the opening weekend for men’s tennis. Lucas Pickering ’18 and Ted Berkowitz ’18 both advanced to the semifinals in “C” Flight Singles and “D” Flight Singles, respectively. No team scores were kept at the tournament. The team competes at the ITA Regionals hosted by Hobart College Sept. 20-22.

Golf opened its fall season at the Duke Nelson Invitational in Middlebury, Vt., tying for seventh in the 25-team event. Mitchell Campbell ’17 was the team’s top finisher, tying for ninth with 79-74—153. Mackenzie Nelson ’17 placed 32nd with 75-84—159, two strokes ahead of Denis Biglin ’18, who tied for 47th with 82-79—161. The team competes at the Williams Invitational Sept. 20-21.

Aria Goodman ’15 earned volleyball all-tournament honors at the Union Invitational. The team suffered setbacks against Nazareth, St. Michael’s, Oneonta and Cortland. Marcela Familiar-Bolanos ’17 had a team-high 34 digs against Cortland and 29 against Oneonta, Kalle Fox ’18 contributed 37 assists and 17 digs and Goodman had a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs to go along with four aces against Cortland. The Thoroughbreds host their first home tournament of the season, the Skidmore Classic, Sept. 26-27. ~ By Dan St.-Jacques