AMHERST, Mass. – Three first half goals lifted the 11th-ranked Amherst College field hockey team to a 3-0 win over Bates College Sunday at Gooding Field.

The Jeffs have now won five straight as they improved to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in league play. The Bobcats remain winless in the NESCAC (0-6) and are now 1-6 on the year.

The Purple & White held a decisive edge in penalty corners, 15-to-1. They also posted a 13-to-6 advantage in shots with 11 on goal compared to the visitor's six.

Madeline Tank '15 led the team offensively with two goals and now as a team-high eight scores on the year. Caroline Feeley '18 scored her first collegiate goal and sent another shot on net. Tank and Mary Grace Cronin '18 sent three shots on goal each while Annika Nygren '16 added two of her own.

Six different Bobcat players registered a shot on goal but were unable to find the back of the net as Amherst's sophomore goalkeeper Emily Horwitz continues to shine in 2014, stopping all six shots her way. The shutout was Burwick's third of the season as she remains perfect on the year with a 5-0-0 mark. Cristina Vega played in net for Bates and blocked seven shots while allowing three scores. 

Amherst took a 1-0 lead at the 24:36 mark when Nygren found Elizabeth Turnbull '18 just outside the circle off a penalty corner. Turnbull wound up and sent one towards the net as Tank redirected the shot into the back left corner of the goal.

The Jeffs increased the lead to two roughly 10 minutes later when Grace Cronin sent a shot from the left side of the circle towards net, which was saved by Vega. The rebound bounced out to Feeley whose first attempt was blocked, but she connected with the back of the net on the following try to give Amherst a 2-0 lead. 

Three minutes later, the Purple & White notched their third score of the game when Tank connected on a rebounded that bounced high in the air as she tipped it in for the score to give the Jeffs a 3-0 lead at the break.

The second half was a defensive battle as neither team could find the back of the net. Both team's were even in the shot department, 3-to-3, but Amherst held a 7-to-0 edge in penalty corners.

The Jeffs return to the field Saturday, Oct. 4 and will host Hamilton at 11 a.m. on Gooding Field.