AMHERST, MA. – In their first NCAA Tournament game since 2019, the No. 11 Mammoths fell in heartbreaking fashion in the competition's second round on Sunday, May 11. Taking on #13 William Smith at home after a first-round bye, the #11 Mammoths battled hard in a game defined by scoring runs. However, after 60 minutes of great lacrosse, Amherst's comeback effort ultimately fell short, and they suffered a season-ending 13-12 defeat.
 
With the win William Smith improves to 14-4, while Amherst closes the season at 11-6. They finished the season with their best record since 2019. Their team accomplishments included hosting a NESCAC Quarterfinal and NCAA Tournament game for the first time in six years. Individually, members of the team accorded four All-NESCAC selections (three First Team and one Second Team) and NESCAC Rookie of the Year honors.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
 
* The Mammoths got the scoring going early and often scoring three times before the Herons even got one offensive position. Amherst netted their first NCAA Tournament goal since 2019 on a Mia Raven free position shot after just 45 seconds had elapsed, and a Kate Becker free position opportunity made it 2-0 just two minutes into the contest. The scoring onslaught continued after good cycling got the ball to Becker, who found a cutting Bridget Finley. The All-NESCAC attacker hit paydirt to force a William Smith timeout after just three minutes had come off the clock.
 
* Amherst seemed undeterred by the timeout, putting another goal on the board two minutes later. After a save from NESCAC Rookie of the Year Lily Samoska on the Herons' first shot of the game, Clara Sosa took matters into her own hands, spinning past two defenders and potting her first of the game at the doorstep for the 4-0 lead.
 
* This is when Herons took control. First, they scored free position to cut the Mammoth advantage to threel, before tallying on a woman-up opportunity to make it 4-2, where things would stand at the end of the first frame. They shrunk the lead to one 1:12 into the second quarter and tied the game at 4-4 just 30 seconds later before pulling ahead for the first time later in the period.
 
* Needing a spark after their initial scoring outburst and amid a 17-minute goalless streak, the Mammoths found it in the form of Sofia Guttmann. The junior lived up to her reputation as a bench scoring threat, firing one of her signature long-range missiles home to tie the game at 5-5 halfway through the quarter. She made it two in a row to give her team back the lead with five minutes to go in the quarter. The Mammoths scored again at the death --- Becker assisted a cutting Ella Shay with 0.3 seconds to go --- to make it 7-5 to the good heading into the break.
 
* This time, it was the Mammoths who carried their momentum between quarters, with Sydney Kang netting a stunner to extend the advantage to three. After receiving the ball on the left side of the crease, Kang cut across the face of goal, got pushed from behind and shoveled the ball into the net as she fell to score for Amherst. Three straight goals from the Herons put them up two with five minutes left in the frame.
 
* Amherst has faced deficits like this before, and their experience quickly showed. First, efficient ball movement saw Sosa pass out of a double team to a wide-open Morgan Lebek, and the junior middie drew the Mammoths to 10-9 entering the fourth. William Smith again extended the lead to two, but Guttmann again put the team on her back, scoring to keep the Herons within reach. With 6:03, Amherst tied it up, executing a set play to perfection. Kang took the ball back in play behind the net, firing a pass to Emily Petersen on the right side of goal. The team's leading scorer would not be denied, scoring to even the game at 11-11.
 
* With five minutes remaining, the Herons regained the lead and then extended it to two a minute later, putting the home side at a disadvantage in clutch time. Finley quickly scored with a slick dive to the net to give her team the chance to tie late. Down one with 33.3 seconds left, Amherst was unable to get the ball back and lost a heartbreaker to the Herons 13-12.
 
BY THE NUMBERS:
 
* Becker recorded four points on a goal and three assists, and Guttmann paced the Mammoths with three goals. Those tallies came on four total shots, an impressive .75 conversion rate.

* Petersen's goal in the fourth quarter gave her at least one in every game this season and extended her goal-scoring streak to 17 games. This is the longest such streak since 2014, when Rachel Passarelli '16 netted in 19 straight games to begin the season.
 
* Samoska lived up to her Rookie of the Year billing in her first NCAA Tournament game, holding the Herons scoreless for the first 10 minutes of the contest and making six saves on the day.