AMHERST, MA. – A five-goal first quarter saw the No. 17-ranked Amherst College women's lacrosse team cruise to their second straight win on Wednesday, March 12. Facing down their first non-conference opponent of the season in #25 MIT, the Mammoths left nothing in doubt, dominating at both ends on the way to a 14-8 victory.

With the win, the Mammoths improved to 2-1 this season, while Engineers dropped to 1-3. Amherst will return to NESCAC play in the final game of a three-game home stand on Saturday, March 15, against #6 Colby. The game against the Mules will begin at 12 p.m.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
 
* The Mammoths got on the board 4:24 into the contest by way of Bridget Darcy. Darcy received the ball behind the cage and jogged her way to X before dusting her defender to the inside. This freed up a lane across the face of goal and Darcy capitalized, netting on the doorstep for the lead. MIT pulled one back two minutes later to even the game at 1-1.
 
* After four minutes of deadlock the Mammoths blew the game open in the last five minutes of the first frame. The onslaught started with a goal from Clara Sosa with 4:26 remaining: Emily Petersen drove to the net before dishing to Sosa to her right, and the junior bounced a shot past the MIT goalie for the lead. Next up was Petersen herself, who netted back-to-back goals off assists from Sosa and Kate Becker, respectively, to widen the margin to three. Morgan Lebek closed the quarter with a goal of her own off a Petersen helper to go into the second up 5-1.
 
* Amherst started the second frame with two more goals. Sofia Guttmann extended the lead to six with a beautiful long-range strike from the right side of the eight-meter before Sosa got her second of the contest to make it 7-1 with 11:30 to go in the half. The Engineers got their first goal in 15 minutes of gametime shortly thereafter, and the teams traded tallies at the end of the quarter to head into the half with Amherst leading 8-3.
 
* Petersen opened the second half with her third of the night four minutes into the third. The junior started at the top of the eight-meter and used a quick hesitation move to speed by her defender on the right and fire a shot to the lower left corner. Darcy scored one minute later with a quick-stick shot from just outside the crease before MIT got on the scoreboard for the first time in the half, the score now standing at 10-4.
 
*  This is when the Mammoths took control of the game once more, going on a 4-0 run to secure the win. Bridget Finley was the next Amherst player to get in on the action, using a quick dodge from left to right to open a shooting lane and firing a high shot into the back of the cage. Guttmann sealed her hat trick with a goal eerily reminiscent of Petersen's tally earlier in the quarter, and the Mammoths entered the final frame up 12-4.
 
* Petersen iced the game with two more goals, one of which coming on a woman-up opportunity, and four MIT goals in the last five minutes of the game accounted for the 14-8 final score.
 
 
BY THE NUMBERS:

* Petersen continued to her run of incredible form on Wednesday, netting five goals against the Engineers. This brings the Mammoth captain's total to a team-leading 10 goals and twelve points in three games this season.

* Draw specialist Elizabeth Rose lived up to her billing on Wednesday, bringing down a team high five draw controls.
 
* Goalie Lily Samoska started in net and made three saves on the day. Junior Jessye Salmon also appeared in net for the Mammoths.