AMHERST, Mass. – For the second day in a row, the Amherst College women's soccer team posted an 8-0 shutout with a dominant performance against Vermont State University Castleton on Sunday afternoon at Hitchcock Field. The Mammoths scored five goals in the first 20 minutes, while junior Patience Kum and first-year Precious Novidzro each scored twice in the game.

The Mammoths, ranked seventh in the nation in the latest United Soccer Coaches Division III poll, improved to 11-1-1 with their fourth straight win, while the Spartans fell to 3-11-1.

The reigning NESCAC champion Mammoths return to action on Saturday (Oct. 21), hosting 20th-ranked Hamilton at noon.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* Kum put the Mammoths on the board in the fourth minute, as junior Sierra Rosado found the reigning NESCAC Player of the Year on a long pass from midfield and Kum blasted a shot over a leaping goalkeeper.

* The next goal came in the seventh minute, when senior Liza Katz delivered a free kick into the box that junior Carter Hollingsworth headed in for her second goal of the season.

* The Mammoths struck for three more goals in a three-minute span. In the 14th minute, sophomore Brooke Ingemi took a shot from outside the box that deflected off the crossbar into the goal for her fourth goal of the season.

* Novidzro scored back-to-back goals in short order. The first came in the 15th minute when Ingemi sent a pass into the box that found Novidzro behind the defense. Two minutes later, Novidzro took a pass from Katz in the box and maneuvered around the goalie for her second goal of the game and fourth of her rookie season.

* Kum added her second of the game in the 57th minute as first-year Becca Button split a pair of defenders in the box and sent a short pass to Kum, who was wide open to score her NESCAC-leading 11th goal of the season.

* After sophomore Halle Hanna converted a penalty kick in the 71st minute to score for the second day in a row, first-year Katie Pedersen capped the scoring with her second goal of the season in the final minute of the match.



BY THE NUMBERS:

* The Mammoths held the Spartans without a single shot in the game while taking 50 shots of their own, including 27 shots on goal. First-year goalkeeper LuLu Fickes kept a clean sheet for Amherst without facing a shot, while sophomore Emma Ezzo made 9 saves for Castleton in the first half and senior Amaya Rogers stopped 10 shots in the second half.