Box Score CLAREMONT, CA – Six-plus point days from Kate Becker, Sofia Guttmann, and Emily Petersen led the No. 5 Amherst women's lacrosse team to a runaway win on Tuesday, March 17. The Mammoths took the field against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges looking to extend their season-opening win streak to five. After jumping out at an early lead, Amherst held their nerve and pulled away in the fourth to earn a 21-9 victory.  
 
With the win, the Amherst improves to 5-0 overall while the Athenas fall to 5-3. The Mammoths have one more game in California on the docket, taking on No. 13 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Thursday, March 19. The contest against the Sagehens is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. EDT.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
 
* Amherst jumped out to an early lead, starting the contest with 4 goals in six and a half minutes to open a 4-0 lead that they would never relinquish. Guttmann was the first to score, netting just 1:08 into the game, before Petersen and Becker potted on consecutive possessions. Guttmann bookended the run with her second, this time on a free position.

* The teams traded blows from there, with CMS scoring their first of the day, Petersen and Caroline Curtis getting on the board and the Athenas wrapping up the first quarter with another tally to go into the second with the Mammoths up 6-2.

* The back and forth continued through the second stanza. First, Guttmann and the Athenas traded goals early in the frame, putting two each in the back of the cage. Curtis got her second on a free position attempt, CMS scored again, and then Petersen hit paydirt twice to widen the advantage to six, at 11-5. Two Athenas' goals in the final 1:02 of the half put the score at 11-7 heading into halftime.

* The pattern resumed after the break: CMS scored just 1 minute in to narrow the lead to 3, but Guttmann responded with her second free-position goal to restore the advantage. Then the Athenas put one away, and Bridget Darcy got a goal of her own. Finley broke the stalemate to widen the lead to 5 once again halfway through the third period; the defenses took over from there, with neither team scoring for the rest of the quarter.  

* With the game at 14-9 at the beginning of the final frame, Amherst found another gear. Clara Sosa converted a free-position and Finley netted off an assist from Becker to give the Mammoths their largest lead of the day. That margin kept ballooning, with Becker and Finley both converting to make it 18-9 with 10 minutes to go.

* Goals from Petersen, Sosa, and Finley sealed the 21-9 win.

BY THE NUMBERS:
 
* The Mammoths' offensive success started on defense. They recorded 17 caused turnovers and 21 ground balls on the day, led by 3 caused turnovers and a groundball from Anna Whitworth, and 3 caused turnovers and 4 groundballs by Becker.
 
* Both Guttmann and Becker put in the biggest scoring days of their careers to date against the Athenas. Becker notched 2 goals and a career high 6 assists for 8 points, while Guttmann recorded 5 goals and 1 assist for 6 points.

* Petersen has now scored in every game this season. Her 5-goal game is the fifth of her career.

* Lily Samoska made 8 saves against the Athenas.