BRUNSWICK, ME. A Sofia Guttmann hattrick lead the No. 16-ranked Amherst College women's lacrosse team to another hard-fought win, with a third quarter run sealing the deal on Saturday, March 22. Traveling up to Brunswick, Maine to face NESCAC foe Bowdoin in an all-important conference contest, the Mammoths downed the Polar Bears 13-9.

With the win, the Mammoths improve to 4-2 this season, while Bowdoin fell to 4-4. Amherst will continue their road trip a little under 24 hours from now with a game a little closer to home: they will face Westfield State just down Route 91 on Sunday, March 23, with the game set to start at 12 p.m.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
 
* Bowdoin got on the board early, striking first blood just 57 seconds into the contest off a screen-and-roll tally, but the Mammoths responded in kind, netting three-straight goals to hold a 3-1 advantage with 6:06 remaining in the quarter. The first goal came off a free position pass from Emily Petersen to Clara Sosa, who dodged multiple defenders high to for the finish. Sydney Kang was the next to score off a free-position shot, and defender Brynn Korpi got her first goal of the season with a wide-open breakaway that started at midfield.  
 
* Bowdoin scored to close out the first, though Amherst picked right back where they left off at the beginning of the second frame: off a free-position chance, Morgan Lebek took a step forward, slid to the left and rifled a shot to the top corner to restore the two-goal advantage. Kate Becker made it 5-2 only 90 seconds later off a cross-field pass from Kang that left her wide open on the crease for an easy finish.
 
* This kicked off a period of back-and-forth play: Bowdoin scored first to narrow the advantage to two, then Guttmann blew by two defenders and dodged past a third to get in close before scoring herself. Again, the Polar Bears answered, but the Mammoths again prevented them from gaining the momentum with another goal from Guttmann --- one of her patented long-range strikes --- to keep Bowdoin at bay. This allowed them to swing the game in their favor once again, as Ella Shay potted her first of the game with two minutes remaining in the half to see the Mammoths up 8-4 at the break.
 
* Both teams came out of halftime determined to play stout defense, and it showed at the beginning of the third quarter --- neither team scored until 6:30 had elapsed, but it was then that the goals started piling in. The Polar Bears put one away first, but Amherst scored twice in the next 90 seconds via a Petersen tally and a Mia Raven high-low fake to lead 10-5 with 6:47 left in the frame. Bowdoin netted once more to head into the fourth with Amherst holding a four-goal lead, at 10-6.
 
* Bowdoin started the final period with a goal but back-to-back Bridget Finley goals gave the Mammoths more breathing room and Guttmann completed her hattrick with five minutes remaining to put the game all but out of reach. Bowdoin netted twice more but when the final horn sounded, the Mammoths left Maine victorious, notching a 13-9 conference win.
 
 
BY THE NUMBERS:

* Guttmann recorded her second straight hattrick against Polar Bears and was one of three Mammoths to record multiple goals in the contest. Sosa, Kang, Becker, and Emma Crotty each tallied one assist.
 
* Petersen's goal against the Polar Bears extends her team-leading tally to 15, as well as her goal-scoring streak to six games.  

* Defensively, first-year Taylor Hua led the Mammoths with five ground balls, and sophomore Olivia Summers paced the team with three caused turnovers.
 
* Amherst goaltender Lily Samoska made seven saves on the day.