AMHERST, Mass. – The Mammoths deadlocked the contest early in the second stanza behind a penalty stroke conversion, but a Panther goal in the 50th minute proved to be the difference maker as the No. 7 Amherst College field hockey team fell to No. 5 Middlebury, 2-1 Saturday morning at Gooding Field.

With their first setback of the season, Amherst falls to 3-1 on the year and to 1-1 in league action, while Middlebury remains perfect and improves to 3-0 overall (2-0 NESCAC). Amherst returns to action. Amherst next hits the turf on Thursday, Sept. 21 when they host Endicott at 7 p.m. at Gooding Field.  

Striking early in the matchup, Audrey Quirk gave Middlebury a 1-0 edge at the 12:37 mark. Following a corner insertion pass and a dish across the circle, Lauren Schweppe found space and ripped a shot on target. Amherst netminder Emilie Flamme '20 proved up to the task and turned away the initial attempt, but Quirk was perfectly positioned on the left post to one-touch the rebound into the far corner of the goal.

Getting on the scoreboard 14 minutes into the second half, a tenacious offensive effort following a corner opportunity set up a Panther foul inside the circle and a penalty stoke for Amherst. Stepping up to the hash mark to take the shot, Elizabeth Turnbull '18 found nylon to remain perfect on the season in the high pressure opportunity.

Responding immediately, Kelly Coyle directed the Panthers to victory at the 40:05 mark as she slid a sweeping shot with her back to the net past the goalkeeper, short side.

GAME NOTES

• The Panthers owned the advantage in shots and penalty corners, 17-7 and 7-5, respectively.
• In between the pipes, Flamme (3-1) made nine stops for the Mammoths in the losing effort, while Megan Collins (3-0) recorded three saves for the Panthers.
• Katie Bergamesca '18 and Kendall Codey '19 took two shots each to lead Amherst, while Annie Leonard tallied a contest-high four shots.