Contact: Ben Badua

AMHERST, Mass. – Buoyed by a pair of goals within the first 10 minutes of action, the second-seeded Amherst field hockey team earned a 3-1 win over seventh-seeded Wesleyan University in a NESCAC Championship quarterfinal matchup on Gooding Field.

Ranked 10th in the latest NFHCA Coaches Poll, the Lord Jeffs have now won eight straight against the Cardinals, improving to 13-2 overall on the season, while Wesleyan fell to 8-7 on the year. Defeating the Cardinals for the second time in as many weeks, Amherst also eliminated Wesleyan in last year's quarterfinal with a 3-0 decision.

Hoping to get Amherst off to a fast start, Alex Philie '14 (East Sandwich, Mass.) dribbled down the sideline just over a minute after the opening whistle. Looking to goal, the sophomore fed a pass toward junior forward Katie McMahon (Denville, N.J.), who tipped a shot past Cardinal goalkeeper Tori Redding '13 at 1:15.

Just over eight minutes later, McMahon continued to apply pressure, winning an early penalty corner. After Redding made the initial save on a Carly Dudzik '12 (Darien, Conn.) shot, Amherst's Sarah McCarrick '12 (New Canaan, Conn.) corralled the rebound, finding teammate Krista Zsitvay '14 (New Vernon, Conn.), who tallied the Jeffs' second score at 9:35.

Looking to generate a scoring opportunity of its own, Wesleyan pushed forward, earning a penalty corner in the 15th minute. Receiving the ball inside the arc, Morgan McCauley '12 ripped a shot on goal that prompted a Rachel Tannenbaum '15 save.

McCauley again tested Tannenbaum in the 29th minute, forcing Amherst's first-year keeper to make a diving save. Moments later Blair Ingraham '14 put another try on net, but the Berwyn, Pa. native proved up to the challenge, kicking out the attempt to preserve Amherst's lead heading into the intermission.

After the Amherst defense blocked down a pair of Wesleyan shots to start the second, the Jeffs again went on the offensive, winning a penalty corner at 40:31. Settling the entry pass, Dudzik weaved through several Cardinal defenders before turning and sliding a pass toward the back post to Chrissy Cantore '12 (Hersey, Pa.), who tipped in Amherst's third goal at 40:57.

Trying to turn the tide, Wesleyan won a couple of corners over the next five minutes, putting a pair of shots on net before junior Taryn Murray finally broke though, sneaking a loose ball in front into the Jeff cage.

Continuing to push forward, the Cardinals won four more penalty corners over the final 25 minutes of action, recording five shots, but the Amherst defense held steady, with Tannenbaum making three saves during that span to seal the Jeff win.

Wesleyan finished with a 15-14 shot advantage and a 10-9 edge in corners. Tannenbaum made eight saves en route to her 13th victory, while Redding collected nine stops.

Amherst will face third-seeded Middlebury on Saturday, Nov. 5 in a NESCAC Semifinal hosted by top-seeded Bowdoin. The Panthers advanced to the semis by virtue of their 3-0 shutout of sixth-seeded Williams.