AMHERST, Mass. – The Amherst College women's soccer team scored twice in the opening 10 minutes of the game, and goalkeeper Chelsea Cutler '19 collected her third career shutout to help propel the Purple & White to a 3-0 victory over Hamilton College in Saturday afternoon's NESCAC tilt at Hitchcock Field.

With the win, Amherst has now won four games in a row to improve its record to 7-2-1, 4-1-1 in league play, while Hamilton moves to 2-6-2 overall, 1-6-1 in NESCAC action.

Amherst raced out to a fast start as Rubii Tamen '19 streaked down the left wing and into the 18-yard box before firing a low shot that beat the goalkeeper to give the Purple & White a 1-0 advantage at the 2:13 mark.

Just under five minutes later, Amherst doubled its lead when Megan Root '19 served a beautiful free kick into the box that found the foot of Ashlyn Heller '17 who was able to send the ball into the back of the net to give the hosts a 2-0 cushion at the 7:09 mark.

Amherst, which held a 9-1 lead in shots in the first 45 minutes of action, saw two more attempts on frame by Heller turned aside by Continentals' goalie Emily Dumont to keep the game at 2-0 in favor of the Purple & White after one half of play.

Hamilton put its first shot on goal at the 33:33 mark as Liz Mathis sent an attempt in on Cutler that was fended off by the keeper.

Midway through the second half, Amherst increased its lead to 3-0 when a loose ball in Hamilton's defensive half of the field fell to the foot of Emily Hester '17 who then launched a looping shot over the head of Dumont and into the top right corner from 25 yards out at the 62:05 mark.

The Continentals tried to pull a goal back was Rachel Cady placed a shot on target in the 65th minute, while Amanda Becker offered at goal in the 83rd minute, but both were corralled by Cutler to keep the score at 3-0.

The Purple & White also had several opportunities to extend the lead even further in the second stanza, but Caleigh Plaut '19, Sloan Askins '20, and Sarah Frohman '17 each had their attempts sail just wide of the post.

GAME NOTES

• Heller finished with three shots on goal in the winning effort for Amherst, while Tamen, Hester, and Hannah Guzzi '18 each tested the Hamilton goalkeepers with a shot on goal each.
• Amherst held a commanding 20-6 advantage in shots, and a 6-3 edge in shots on goal.
• The Continentals held an 8-3 lead in corner kicks, while Dumont finished with three saves in the losing effort.
• Cutler notched three saves of her own for Amherst to improve her record to 7-2-1 between the posts.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Amherst, which has won four straight and is 5-0-1 in its last six games, has scored three times in each of its last four victories, outscoring its opponents, 12-2 during the stretch.