WORCESTER, Mass. -- Junior
Sam Maynard notched her third hat trick of the season Thursday night, leading the Amherst College field hockey team to a 4-1 win over Worcester Polytechnic Institute on H. Carr Field.
The Mammoths improved to 8-5 overall while WPI fell to 6-8 on the season. The 15th-ranked Mammoths are home for Senior Day Saturday at 11 a.m. versus conference rival Hamilton College.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
* WPI scored in the only goal of the first quarter on its only shot of the quarter, but the Mammoths found the equalizer off a corner with 12:07 left in the second stanza.
Anna Aiello inserted a penalty corner to
Kate Smith, who fired a pass across the circle toward the lower right corner of the goal that Maynard ew-directed back to the center of the goal and past the keeper to tie the game.
* With just 38 seconds left before halftime, Smith fired a ball down the right side of the field from her own end that found Maynard. The swift forward was able to deke her way around a WPI defender and dribble into the circle alone, taking a backhand shot from just inside the circle that beat the goalkeeper for a 2-1 Amherst lead.
* It stayed 2-1 until 45 seconds remained in the third quarter. Aiello picked up possession on the right side at midfield and made a deep pass that found Maynard just inside the circle. Maynard beat her defender to the left, went one-on-one with the keeper and tucked a shot into the lower left-side of the goal for a two-goal Mammoths advantage.
*
Muffie Mazambani made it 4-1 with 10:45 to go in the contest after Aiello delievred a short pass to
Genevieve Caruso on the right side of the WPI circle. Caruso shot a pass into the circle that made it through a maze of players and somehow found Mazamabani near the far left post. Mazambani tipped a shot into the goal for the three-goal lead.
BY THE NUMBERS:
* The numbers heavily favored the visiting Mammoths, who outshot their hosts 37-2 and 23-2 in shots on goal. They had 18 penalty corners to 3 for WPI.
* First-year
Grace Puchalski made her first start for the Mammoths and earned the win, making one save on the night.