HOBOJEN, NJ – Holding on through a neck-and-neck overtime period, the No. 25 Amherst College field hockey team leaned on junior goaltender Grace Puchalski, who denied four attempts in a seven-round shootout, to outlast No. 10 Stevens Institute of Technology 2-1 (4-3) in the first round of the NCAA Championship.
Amherst improved to a 9-8 record overall while Stevens fell to 18-3. Up next, Amherst will move on to the second round of the Championship to face Bates, who they'll challenge at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Campus Avenue Field.
From Head Coach Carol Knerr: "Grit is what we saw today. I give our team a lot of credit. We went down and we came back from being behind, and we really built some momentum in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, it didn't go in, but we held on all the way through overtime, and we were able to make it happen. We did what we needed to do."
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
*The opening frame was a back-and-forth affair until senior Molly Donegan drew a penalty corner for the Mammoths in the tenth minute. Junior Maya Harrington slotted to senior Anna Aiello at the top of the arch, who quickly found first-year Emma Zhang perched at the right flank. The midfielder's shot was blocked and cleared by a hard-pressing Stevens defense.
*Four minutes later, the Ducks retaliated on a double penalty corner sequence, but Harrington and sophomore Katie Savino coalesced to deny both attempts.
*Stevens struck first in the third minute of the second quarter when junior Lauren Flynn inserted to junior Sophia Cozza at the top of the circle, who returned the ball to Flynn at the center. Flynn found senior Gabi Moroney open in front of the goal for a quick slapshot into the lower right corner, 1-0.
*Harrington inserted to first-year Bella Kim on a corner set piece five minutes later, but the forward's shot veered wide of the iron.
*With under three minutes remaining in the second, senior Justine Liguori rocketed home Amherst's equalizer off a cross from Donegan. The goal sent the game to the third quarter, deadlocked at 1-1.
*Neither team could break through in the third quarter, despite both teams heating up offensively. Puchalski denied a point-blank shot from first-year Brooke Hughes in the fourth minute, while senior goaltender Lily Wierzbicki came up with two saves against shots from first-year Devon Watson and Donegan in the twelfth and thirteenth minutes.
*Amherst pressed hard for a tie-breaking goal in the final period. Watson possessed the ball and fired toward the right post in the second minute, but the attempt was saved by a dive from Wierzbicki. In the final minute, Amherst threatened on a penalty corner with Liguori firing two shots toward the frame, but both deflected wide to send the match to overtime.
*The first overtime period saw penalty corners threaten opportunities on both sides, with Flynn inserting a corner in the first minute to lay out a shot from junior Taylor Brooks, but an extended leg from Puchalski kept the game level. 40 seconds later, Amherst won its own penalty corner, but sophomore Emily Huehn's shot was redirected up and over the iron by the stick of Wierzbicki.
*In the second minute of the second overtime section, junior Chloe Agopian collected a rebound from Wierzbicki and fired toward the left corner, but the shot glanced wide.
*Tied 3-3 after six rounds in the shootout, with successful attempts from Liguori, Zhang, and Caruso, Zhang stepped back up to the line and fired a backhand to put the Mammoths ahead. On the deciding goal, Puchalski forced Cozza to the right and denied her shots to seal the 2-1 victory for Amherst.
BY THE NUMBERS:
*Amherst held an offensive advantage, leading 15-9 in shots and 8-4 in shots on goal. The Ducks held a small advantage in penalty corners, earning 5 compared to Amherst's 4.
*Liguori notched the most shots of any player, shooting 4. Flynn followed behind her with 3.
*Puchalski made 3 saves for the Mammoths across 80 minutes of effort. Wierzbicki collected 6 saves for the Ducks across 80 minutes.
