Contact: Mike O'Brien

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – Madeline Tank '15 recorded a hat-trick as the 10th-ranked Amherst field hockey team rolled past Smith College, 8-1 on Thursday.

The Jeffs (11-2) have won 11 straight after opening the season 0-2 and have outscored opponents 55-10 in that span. Smith falls to 10-5 overall with the loss.

The Pioneers came out strong to start the game and got on the board first in just over a minute of play as Kate Estes '16 scored off an assist from Alexa DeJesus '14 to give Smith an early 1-0 advantage.

However, the lead was short-lived and sparked a Jeffs offensive attack that retaliated a minute later when Tank netted her first goal of the game and team-high 11th of the season.  

Amherst continued to put the pressure on offensively. At the 3:26 mark, a penalty corner from Ellie Andersen '15 was followed by a shot on net from Alex Philie '14. Philie's attempt was saved by Maddie Wyda '16 but the sophomore keeper wasn't as fortunate seconds later as Tank connected on the second Jeff score as they took a 2-1 lead in less than four minutes of play.

The Jeffs remained on the offensive, keeping the ball on Smith's side of the field for the majority of the first half. After several shot attempts and penalty corners, Tank eventually found the back of the net once again for the hat-trick as she scored on another unassisted tally.

Just over 15 minutes of action went by before Amherst added another goal to their lead when Annika Nygren '16 found the back of the net at the 27:43 mark. Just under three minutes later, Tank found Katie Paolano '16 for the Jeffs fifth goal of the game as they went ahead 5-1.

Amherst carried the first half momentum into the second stanza and within two minutes had scored their sixth goal of the game when Sara Culhane '17 connected with Paolano as she registered her second on the day.

Culhane wasn't done yet as she tacked on the seventh Jeff score and her first of the game before adding another assist at the 52:38 mark off Nygren's second score.

Amherst held a decisive edge in shots (27-4) and corners (14-1). Rachel Tannenbaum '15 and Emily Horwitz '17 recorded one stop each while Wyda and Nora Demick '16 posted eight and six saves respectively.

The Jeffs return to the field Wednesday, Oct. 30 for their final regular season contest at Trinity. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m.