Contact: Ben Badua

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

AMHERST, Mass. – Katie McMahon '13 (Denville, N.J.) netted a pair of first-half goals as the 12th-ranked Amherst College field hockey team shut out Springfield 5-0 on Gooding Field.

With the win, the Lord Jeffs knotted their all-time series with the Pride at 7-7, improving to 4-0 overall on the season. Springfield fell to 0-4 on the year with the loss.

Scoreless after the first 10 minutes, the Lord Jeffs won their third penalty corner of the night with hopes of putting the first tally on the board. Alex Philie '14 (East Sandwich, Mass.) fired a shot from the right side that came across the face of the goal with first-year Madeline Tank (Winnetka, Ill.) narrowly missing a chance to redirect it toward goal.

With just under 17 minutes left in the first, Tank took a pass from Krista Zsitvay '14 (New Vernon, N.J.) on the left side, firing a shot toward net, but Pride goalkeeper Tory Sowizral '15 (Harvard, Mass.) made her fourth save of the evening to keep it scoreless.

Minutes later, Zsitvay made another move down the left side this time finding an open McMahon in front with a centering pass, who tapped it into the Springfield goal for the game's first tally at 18:27.

Just 4:11 later, Amherst quickly transitioned from defense to offense with Kerry Fusco '15 (Essex Fells, N.J.) receiving a pass from the right near the top of the left circle. Finding herself in some space, Fusco sent a hard shot off the left post that ricocheted into the path of McMahon who calmly put away her second goal.

Struggling to generate offense, the Pride's Kelly Gallo '14 registered Springfield's first shot of the night at 26:08, but first-year goalkeeper Rachel Tannenbaum (Berwyn, Pa.) made the initial save before once again denying Gallo on the rebound. 

The Pride later threatened off a corner in the 32nd minute when Amy Dean '14 ripped a shot toward net, but Tannenbaum made a diving stick save to her right to preserve Amherst's 2-0 lead heading into the intermission. 

Looking to get off to a fast start coming out of the break, Springfield won an early penalty corner less than five minutes into the second. Senior Lynne Donoghue received the ensuing pass cleanly on the left side of the circle, but fired the shot wide of the Amherst goal.

Hoping to pad the Lord Jeff lead, Philie fired Amherst's 21st shot toward the net from the right side. Finding herself in good position, senior Chrissy Cantore (Hershey, Pa.) redirected the shot into the goal for her first tally of the season, extending the Amherst lead to three.

Continuing to stay aggressive, Zsitvay buried her fifth goal of the season 20:15 into the second, tracking down the rebound on the left side of the goal before tucking it into the Springfield net. Senior midfielder Carly Dudzik (Darien, Conn.) helped cap off scoring in the 59th minute, getting a pass from Philie in the middle before firing a hard shot that got redirected by Zsitvay into the back of the Pride goal.

The Lord Jeffs held a decisive 36-13 shot advantage, while holding a 17-4 edge in penalty corners. Tannenbaum made nine saves en route to her fourth win, while Sowizral finished with 18 stops.

Amherst returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 24 against Hamilton.

BOX SCORE