Problem was, that just one thing was something no one had been able to do all season - beat Salisbury University.

The 22-0 Sea Gulls entered the Final Four as the top-ranked team in the country. Hamilton, ranked fourth, was on a 17-game win streak, but this would certainly be their biggest test.

In the first half, the teams traded goals, but then Hamilton scored the last three in a row and had a 7-4 halftime lead. With another three-goal outburst in the second, Hamilton built a 10-5 lead, and held off a Salisbury charge to gain the win, 11-10.

Junior midfielder Kate Marek (Gunnery) had the kind of game all coaches love to see - two ground balls, two caused turnovers, and game-high six draw controls.

Now the stage was set for the championship final on Sunday, against third-ranked Franklin & Marshall College.

The Continentals entered the game with a 20-1 record. The one loss? To F&M in March.

In the big game, played in the rain on a cool Sunday afternoon, Hamilton got on the scoreboard first with a goal by Kellie Briscoe 3:27 in.

With Briscoe off the field on a penalty, Sarah Bray gave Hamilton a 2-0 at 11:17, but F&M came back quickly, tying the game at 2 at 13:38. Sophomore attack Hilary Saverin from New Canaan got Hamilton up again, 3-2, on a rebound shot in close.

Then Bray re-established the two-goal margin on a speed goal across the mouth of the cage, and came back with an underhand shot while triple-teamed for her hat trick goal. Briscoe scored an empty-netter with 8:19 left in the half, and the Continentals were rolling, 6-2.

Kate caused a turnover and transformed that into an assist on Bray's fourth goal of the game and a 7-2 lead. Jen McGowan drove right up the gut to make the score 8-2 at the end of the half - and that six-goal deficit was the greatest the Diplomats had faced all season.

More would come.

The Continentals took that halftime lead and bumped it by one to end with a 13-6 win, and the national championship. Bray, a freshman, scored five goals. Anne Gravely, another frosh, scored three goals.

The defending champions from Franklin & Marshall looked confused and a step behind the entire game.

For Hamilton, a college that has been around since 1799, this was the first-ever national championship in any sport. Congratulations to Kate and her teammates!

* * *

For the second year in a row, the Western New England College lacrosse season ended in the NCAA Division III national quarterfinals.

Last year, the Golden Bears were stopped by SUNY Cortland in a slugfest, 12-10.

And last Wednesday, it was Ithaca College that worked the victory, with the game decision made in overtime, 13-12.

Six years ago, Western New England was stopped in the NCAA first round by Ithaca, 16-15, in another overtime game.

You get the feeling that once the Golden Bears figure out how to win the big games, they'll never look back.

And since Ithaca and Western New England have only met twice - and in the NCAA playoffs - maybe it's time for the two schools to schedule one another for a seasonal get-together.

In the game, WNEC got the first lead, 1-0, Ithaca tied, then the Bears put two quick goals on the board to make it 3-1. The Bombers answered with five straight goals to take a 7-4 advantage into halftime.

Behind 8-4 in the second half, WNEC scored five straight goals itself to regain the lead, 9-8. The game was tied three times in the last quarter, and Ithaca won it with 1:24 remaining in overtime.

Western New England senior goalie Chris Body (Newtown) made 14 saves in the game, including a super stop in overtime.

Ranked 15th in the country, the Golden Bears end their season with a 15-5 record.

Baseball

The season is over for the Southern Connecticut State baseball team.

The Owls took their 36-17 record into the NCAA Regionals and made an unfortunately quick exit, losing first to Caldwell College, 3-2, on Friday night, then getting eliminated by their nemesis this year, Franklin Pierce College, 7-3, on Saturday.

Junior shortstop Mike Diaz (Masuk) did not play in either game, having been injured the week before.

The Owls had a strange, drifting season, then seemed to catch fire with a season-ending 16-game win streak.

Whether Mike Diaz might have made a difference in the last week, when Southern faltered at the Northeast-10 championships and couldn't gain a win in the Regionals... we'll never know.

Mike was named to the Daktronics All-Northeast Region second team. At the time of his injury (which Southern will not disclose), he was sixth in the nation with 39 stolen bases and was tied for sixth with eight triples.

During the regular season, he led the conference in slugging percentage (.629), runs (53), triples (eight) and stolen bases (38).

Mike also finished tied for second in the NE-10 in walks (107), third in batting average (.412), fourth in on-base percentage (.485), tied for fourth in hits (70) and tied for 10th in doubles (19).

He twice hit in 10 or more games in a row, including a 19-game hitting streak from March 21 through April 24.

* * *

Eastern Connecticut State is also done after going deep into the NCAA Division III New York Regionals, earning a ticket there on an at-large bid as the fifth seed.

The Warriors stumbled in the first game last Wednesday, losing to Montclair State, 8-7, and putting themselves in the losers' bracket of the double-elimination tournament.

Sophomore infielder Travis Horrigan (Shepaug) entered the game as a pinch-runner in the ninth inning but couldn't score.

On Thursday, Eastern stayed alive when pitcher Joe Esposito threw a complete game and All-American Melvin Castillo drove in four runs. The Warriors waxed eighth-seeded Grove City College, 10-5, sending them home for the spring.

Friday afternoon, the Warriors faced seventh seed Ohio Wesleyan and again Eastern got a complete game from a starting pitcher, this time Jimmy Jagodzinski, and took a 5-1 win over the Battling Bishops.

Two Newtown kids are on the Ohio Wesleyan roster - junior catcher Pat Coakley and freshman pitcher Josh Powers. Neither got into the game against Eastern, nor in the first-round loss to RPI.

In it's second game on Friday, Easter got a measure of revenge when the Warriors throttled fourth-seeded Montclair State, the team that sent them into the losers' bracket on the first day, 14-0.

The Warriors used a five-run second inning to collapse the Red Hawks' resolve. Travis Horrigan came on as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning and stayed in the game at shortstop. He went 0-for-1 at the plate.

The Eastern season ended Saturday against third-seeded RPI in a ten-inning, 14-13 heartbreaker of a loss. The Warriors spotted RPI a five-run lead and reeled them in, and had the tying run on base in the bottom of the tenth inning, but couldn't deliver.

Travis got into the game as a pinch runner in that crucial tenth inning, stole second base and scored on a Tristan Hobbes double.

Eastern's season ends with a 32-15-1 record.

* * *

Manhattan College smoked Fairfield University 16-3 on Saturday, earning a share of the program's first MAAC title. The Jaspers enter the conference playoffs as the second seed, the result of a tie-breaker with Canisius College.

Siena College is the third seed, and that's who Manhattan will meet Thursday afternoon.

Freshman pitcher Mike Tibbetts (Newtown) pitched the fourth inning for Manhattan, allowing no runs, no hits.

Track

Southern Connecticut State finished fifth in the New England Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the University of New Hampshire earlier this month.

Owl senior John Critelli (Pomperaug) finished 22nd in the 5000 meters (15:31.58), and freshman Joe Poulsen (Oxford/Seymour) ran to a 13th-place finish in the 3000 steeplechase (9:48.67).

The Colby College 4-by-800 relay team finished second with junior Chris DeRoo (Newtown) running the first leg. It was a very, very tight race, with Williams College winning in 7:40.86 and the Mules crossing in 7:40.93.

The Colby time broke a 25-year-old school record for the event.

Central Connecticut State sophomore Nick Geremia (Masuk) placed 19th in the discus with a toss of 130-7.

University of Hartford freshman Bill Stochmal (Seymour) didn't qualify for the finals in the 400 hurdles, but he did run a personal best in the preliminaries (57.67), a time that was 21st best.

* * *

Sacred Heart University won the women's portion of the Northeast Conference Track and Field title earlier this month. The big noise came from grad student Anne Duffy (Masuk), who was third in the 10,000-meter run (38:40.20) and sixth in the 5000 meters (18:37.46).

Sophomore Cristina Soares (Naugatuck) also got points for the Pioneers with a 13th-place finish in the 3000 steeplechase (13:31.58).

Central Connecticut State finished tenth in the event. Senior Robyn Hudak (Masuk) finished 23rd in the 5000 meters (20:15.07), twin sister Dawn Hudak (Masuk) was 14th in the 3000 steeplechase (13:54.58), and freshman Megan Apps (Naugatuck) came in 34th in the 200-meter run (31.57).

* * *

Cornell won the 74th annual Ivy League Heptagonal Games for the sixth time in a row over the May 10 weekend. Freshman Anthony Corridore (Naugatuck) helped the Big Red get the title; he was eighth in the 100-meter hurdles (15.30).

The Yale women finished in tie for seventh place in the distaff competition. Freshman Erika Mansson (Masuk) was a major contributor for the Bulldogs - she ran the third leg of the fifth-place 4-by-400 relay (3:50.43), and was 11th in the 400-meter run (58.90).

Field Hockey

Graduating senior Abby Maguire (Pomperaug) , a three-time All-Big East and NFHCA Division I All-Northeast Region in field hockey, has been named the Providence College Female Athlete of the Year for team sports.

Abby led the field hockey team to an impressive 14-8 overall record and a 4-2 mark in the Big East Conference.

For the second straight year, the Friars finished the season ranked in the NFHCA Division I National Coaches' Poll (20th) and advanced to the Big East Championship game.

In her career with the Friars, Abby earned All-Big East First-Team honors and was an NFHCA Division I All-Northeast Region Second-Team honoree. She earned All-Big East and All-Northeast Region honors in three of her four seasons with the program.

She also was named to the Big East All-Tournament Team and the NFHCA Divison I Senior All-Star Game.

Last fall, Abby scored 18 points on eight goals and two assists. She finished her career at Providence ranked 10th all-time in scoring with 74 career points. She also ranks ninth all-time in goals (32).

Softball

Muhlenberg College sophomore third base Jenna Val Waalwijk (Newtown) has been named to the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll for excellence in the classroom and on the field.

To be named to the Academic Honor Roll, a student must be a sophomore or higher in class standing, a starter or key reserve on her team, and carry at least a 3.40 cumulative grade-point average.

Jenna is carrying a double major in business administration and psychology in the classroom. On the field, she started 22 games for the 2008 Mules. She drove in six runs with her seven hits, which included a pair of doubles.

* * *

Have news about a local athlete who played a college sport this spring or will do so next school year? Please drop me a line at jaddyman@rochester.rr .com or john.addyman@yahoo. com. Please tell me what your relationship to the athlete is. I will respond.