AMHERST, MA. – A five-goal outing from Bridget Finley and a stellar performance from Lily Samoska in cage lead the No. 13 Mammoths to a win against No. 15 Trinity on Wednesday, April 23. In their last game of the 2025 regular season, the Mammoths returned home to take on the Bantams in a mid-week NESCAC contest. With a home playoff game on the line, the Mammoths rose to the occasion, riding a 6-1 scoring run to a 15-12 victory.
 
With the win, the Mammoths improve to 11-4 overall and finish the season at 6-4 in the NESCAC, while Trinity fell to 8-7. With the result, Amherst clinched a home seed in the 2025 NESCAC Tournament, which begins on Saturday, April 27. The details of their Quarterfinal game will be finalized in the next 24 hours, with Amherst taking on Wesleyan at a time to be determined.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
 
* Amherst started a little slow offensively, and Trinity took advantage, getting on the board first with a bouncing shot hitting paydirt 3:28 into the game. The Mammoths found their rhythm, though, with Bridget Finley scoring from close range with 6:56 to go off a quick feed from Ella Shay at the 8-meter to even the game at 1-1.
 
* The home side took the lead with 3:45 to go after a great sequence of events. Clara Sosa perfectly executed on the ride, intercepting a high pass about 35 yards out and driving towards goal. The Mammoths cycled the ball around before finding its way back to Sosa, who dished to Finley for the finish to give their team a one-goal lead. Though Amherst had three big offensive chances in the quarter's final two minutes, the teams moved to the second at 2-1.
 
* The next goal came three minutes into the second, with the Bantams tying the game up at two before netting their third two minutes later to retake the lead at 3-2. The Bantams almost took a two-goal lead, but Samoska came up with a big stop to spark the offense. Sosa was the beneficiary, tying the game with a great individual effort: the junior dodged her way through three defenders before shooting to tie the game once again. Amherst jumped out in front once again by way of Rachel Rogers, who cut to the cage and netted off a Kate Becker pass for the 4-3 advantage.
 
* Trinity put one away with 1:36 left in the half, and it looked like the teams would head into the break tied, but the Mammoths would not let that happen. A give-and-go between Finley and Becker --- Finley dumped it to Becker at X, who jab-stepped and returned the ball to her classmate to give their team a 5-4 lead at the half.
 
* The Mammoths carried that momentum into the second half, scoring just 1:25 into the third to give them their first two goal lead of the night. This time it was Raven, who received a pass, blew by her defender, and fired a bullet past the Trinity netminder. Trinity narrowed the lead to 6-5 30 seconds later, but Emily Petersen extended her goal-scoring streak with a free position goal to restore the two-goal lead.
 
* Trinity scored next, then Sydney Kang played provider on Finley's fourth of the night to give Amherst an 8-6 cushion; Though the Bantams answered once again, Amherst began to pull away. Rogers out away her second of the game, Sosa finished a free-position opportunity, and Finley netted number five off an assist from Petersen to give the Mammoths an 11-7 lead. Trinity tallied before the end of the quarter to send the teams into the fourth with Amherst up three.
 
* Kang got the final quarter started with a free-position goal. Petersen followed that with a goal off a dive to the net after a pass from Becker at X, before getting another with a dive to the net to for her third of the night, unassisted.
 
* The Bantams finally stopped the run with a goal with just under five to go, and scored twice more to get within three with 2:42 left in the game. But, Amherst slammed the door on the comeback via Kang, with the senior captain potting her second of the game to put the game out of reach. Trinity put a garbage-time goal away, but the final horn blew seconds later and Amherst walked away with a hard-fought 15-12 win.
 
BY THE NUMBERS:
 
* Finley's five goals against the Bantams is her highest output since she hung six on Stevens almost two months ago and puts her at 37 for the season.

* The Mammoths' win was sparked by a stellar defensive night: Amherst caused seven turnovers in the first quarter to give their offensive players a chance to find their stride.
 
* Samoska played her part expertly in defensive battle in the early stages, making seven saves, including five in the back-and-forth first half.