AMHERST, MA. – In the two teams' second overtime game of the year, the fourth-seeded national-No. 13 Mammoths suffered a heartbreaking defeat against fifth-seeded national-No. 7 Wesleyan on Saturday, April 26. Playing their first NESCAC Tournament Quarterfinal game on home turf since 2019, Amherst came back from four goals down halfway through the third quarter to force overtime but fell to Wesleyan on a golden goal, 12-11.
 
With the loss, the Mammoths fall to 11-5 overall, while Wesleyan improves to 12-4. Amherst will await the release of the NCAA Championship bracket on Monday, May 5th, hoping to receive an at-large bid to the tournament. The Mammoths currently sit at #10 in the latest National Power Index (NPI) rankings, the algorithm that the NCAA uses to select teams for the National Championship Tournament.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
 
* The Mammoths struck first, taking a 1-0 lead on their first offensive possession. After effectively cycling the ball, it made its way to Sydney Kang at X. Kang found Clara Sosa wide open at the top of the 12-meter arc, and the junior sprinted on goal, dodging past one defender before finishing high stick-side for the opener. After multiple defensive stops and big saves from goalie Lily Samoska and her Cardinal counterpart, Wesleyan found the equalizer on a fast-break opportunity with 6:19 remaining in the first.
 
* The Cardinals scored twice more and looked to take a two-goal lead into the second, but Ella Shay put one in to bring the Mammoths within one. With chaos in front of the goal and the ball on the turf, Shay picked it up for the scoop and score to make it 3-2 with 39 seconds to go. However, the Cardinals got back down the field and scored with four seconds to make it 4-2 at the break.
 
* In contrast to the offensive fireworks of the first quarter, the second was quiet by comparison. Wesleyan extended their lead to three with 1:20 remaining in the frame, and the teams entered halftime with Wesleyan up 5-2.
 
* Amherst got back on the right track offensively at the beginning of the third quarter, again scoring quickly to shrink their deficit to two. Bridget Darcy converted on a slick move down the baseline on an extra-man opportunity to make it 5-3. But Wesleyan again kept them at arm's length, netting to restore their three-goal advantage.
 
* After a second Wesleyan goal made the lead a game-high 7-3, a timeout proved pivotal, sparking the Mammoth offense. First, Sofia Guttmann scored from point-blank range on a free-position put the Mammoths within three, and Petersen got a free-position score of her own to make it a two-goal game. Though the Cardinals brought the lead back to three, a Bridget Finley free-position goal further narrowed the lead to 8-6 entering the final quarter.
 
* Wesleyan scored to begin the fourth, but Petersen got her second goal of the day to again bring the game back to 9-7. Then, Darcy's second came off a similar move to her first, dodging past her defender on the baseline for to shrink the lead to one for the first time since the first quarter.
 
* Amherst came to play in the fourth, and it showed. The game-tying goal came just under two minutes later: Kate Becker caught the ball at X and tossed it over the goal to Mia Raven at the 8-meter. The speedy sophomore slipped past three defenders and put a shot into the top left corner to make it 9-9.  
 
* Down one with 90 seconds to go and needing the ball Amherst got a big turnover to give their offense a chance. Emily Petersen played the hero for the second time this season, scoring a bounce shot off an assist from Becker with 10 seconds to go to send the game to overtime once again.
 
* Though Samoska saved free-position shot with :0.8 in the first half of the period to keep the game going, a controversial goal scored :47 seconds into the second half of the first frame downed the Mammoths in sudden-death fashion, 11-10.
 
BY THE NUMBERS:
 
* Petersen's goal with 10 seconds to go was her second last-second game-tying goal against the Cardinals this season. The first came off a free-position with :01 to go in the two teams' first meeting on April 2.

* Ella Bobbett played a stellar game on defense, picking up five groundballs and causing six turnovers, both team- and game-highs.
 
* Samoska made five saves against the Cardinals, including three in overtime.