In final week of fall season, Field Hockey heads toward playoffs

Last week marked the final week of the regular season for fall sports, while the ice hockey and swimming and diving opened the winter schedule. Field hockey kept rolling with another 2-0 week and will carry that momentum into the playoffs. Men’s soccer went 1-1 in its last two games and volleyball hosted the final tournament of its season, picking up one win, while women’s soccer was held off in its final two contests. Ice hockey started its season on a winning note and men’s and women’s swimming and diving competed at St. Lawrence and Potsdam.

Field hockey extended its winning streak to eight, closing out the regular season with non-conference wins against Hartwick and St. John Fisher. Dani DeGregory ’16 tied the program record for with 32 goals in a season, netting four goals in Wednesday’s 9-0 win over Hartwick and adding a hat trick in Sunday’s 6-3 win at St. John Fisher. She has 32 goals and 12 assists for 76 points, three off the season total record of 79 points set last season by Kelly Blackhurst ’14. Krista Lamoreaux ’17 tied a season-high with five points (1G, 3A) against Hartwick and Becca Halter ’17 tallied a pair of goals against St. John Fisher. The 12th-ranked Thoroughbreds, who completed the regular season with a record of 15-3, host Vassar in the Liberty League semifinal at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5.

Ice hockey opened its 2014-2015 campaign with a win against SUNY Canton. Five different players scored for the Thoroughbreds in the win. Conor Pelkey ’18 had two assists and Christian Leahy ’18, Zach Arden ’18, Mickey Foley ’18 and Kenny Nelson ’18 all tallied in their first collegiate game. The team took a 5-0 lead into the third period and managed to hold off a late charge by the Kangaroos, securing a 5-4 win. Jack McDonald ’17 made 28 saves in goal. The Thoroughbreds go on the road Nov. 7-8, traveling to the University of New England before taking on the University of Southern Maine.

Men’s soccer went 1-1 in its final week of the season, beating Bard and falling against Union. Adam Beek ’15, Tim Sullivan ’16 and Augustine Okoye ’18 each scored a first-half goal against Bard, propelling the Thoroughbreds to a 3-0 win. Beek ended the season with a conference-high eight goals, eight assists and 24 points. Robby Smukler potted his third goal of the season in his final collegiate game, scoring the team’s lone goal in Saturday’s 3-1 setback against Union. The team completed the season with an overall record of 9-6-3.

Volleyball wrapped its season at the Skidmore Invitational, knocking off Potsdam in its opening match of the tournament and dropping matches against Fredonia and New Paltz on Saturday. Aria Goodman ’15 was named to the all-tournament team. She led the team with 12 kills and two aces against Potsdam and added nine kills and 13 digs against New Paltz. Kalle Fox ’18 chipped in with a double-double in the Postdam and Fredonia matches, posting 18 assists and 10 digs against the Bears and 15 assists and 12 digs against the Blue Devils. The team ended its season with a record of 8-25.

Men’s and women’s swimming and diving opened the 2014-2015 season with meets at St. Lawrence and Potsdam. Both teams were topped by St. Lawrence, but the men’s team rebounded with a win over Potsdam, while the women’s team was narrowly beat, 116-112. Yookee Roh ’17 took first place in the 200 IM in both meets and Catherine King ’15 and Erin Donovan ’17 were dual winners against Potsdam. King placed first in the 50 free and Donovan won the 100 back and teamed with Monica Abdul-Chani ’17, Katie Kuklewicz ’15  and Kate Lambos ’15 for first in the 200 free relay.

On the men’s side, Nick Sauerbrunn ’15 notched three individual wins against Potsdam, touching first in the 1000 free, 500 free and 100 breast.  The team of Carl Vanasse ’18, Robert Fulton ’15, Gabriel Salitan-Alvarez ’17 and Charlie Bullis ’16 won the 200 free relay and Salitan-Alvarez picked up vital points, winning the 200 free. Jacob Nathan ’15 swept the diving events against Potsdam, recording an NCAA qualifying score in the 1-meter event. The teams go on the road to take on Vassar at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8.       

Women’s soccer was edged by RPI and No. 19 Nazareth in its final two games of the season. Deirdre Walsh ’17 made two saves against RPI and stopped six shots against Nazareth. Arena Manning ’16 gave the Thoroughbreds a 1-0 lead 1:01 into the game against Nazareth, but the Golden Flyers rallied late, scoring the tying goal in the 62nd minute and netting the game-winner with 5:30 remaining in regulation. The team compiled a record of 5-9-2 for the season.  ~ By Dan St.-Jacques