AMHERST, Mass. – Dominating possession early, the No. 9 Amherst College field hockey team picked up one goal apiece from junior Maya Harrington and junior Genevieve Caruso to dispatch a 2-0 victory over Colby College on Sunday afternoon at Hill Field.
Amherst improved to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in NESCAC competition, while Colby fell to 2-6 and 0-5 in the conference. Next up, the Mammoths will hit the road to face Western New England University at Golden Bear Stadium, where they'll face the Bears at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
*After a back-and-forth first five minutes, senior Molly Donegan heated up Amherst's offense with a close-range shot on goal, but the attempt was saved by sophomore goaltender Opal O'Rourke.
*Two minutes later, the Mammoths' first penalty corner of the afternoon set up a powerful shot from sophomore Emily Huehn at the top of the arch, but the ball was cleared wide.
*Tight pressing from sophomore Katie Savino and a well-placed save from sophomore goaltender Kate Grady helped keep Colby scoreless during three penalty corners in the final five minutes of the first stanza.
*Amherst cracked open the scoreboard in the eighth minute of the second period as junior Harrington drove home a rebound from Huehn on a corner piece.
*The Mammoths extended their lead to 2-0 with five minutes left in the third quarter on a connection between junior Dylan Bloom and Caruso. From the right wing of the arch, Bloom sent the ball across the circle and into the stick of Caruso, who redirected it into the net.
*The Mules turned up the heat with a penalty corner one minute later, but shots from senior Molly Mitchell and junior Annie Raynes were denied by a cluster of Amherst defenders.
*Caruso tipped off the fourth stanza with a shot toward the right post, but the ball veered wide.
*A scooping shot from sophomore Christina Sweeney lifted up and over the goal in the second minute of the fourth quarter after the forward dribbled behind Amherst's defensive line.
*Junior Katie Kantrovitz uncorked a vital save for the Mammoths with just over ten minutes remaining as the defender blocked and cleared a shot at the goal line.
*Colby was granted its final corner in the last minute of the match, finding the back of the net on a shot from Raynes, but the attempt was ruled a no-goal by the officials.
BY THE NUMBERS:
*Amherst led 24-6 in shots, 17-4 in shots on goal, and 8-7 in penalty corners.
*First-year Bella Kim fired the most shots on goal out of any player, shooting 4. Huehn followed close behind with 3.
*Across 59 minutes of play between the posts, O'Rourke made 13 saves while Grady made 3.
