MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Finding the back of the net in the 59th minute, first-year Patience Kum's ninth goal of the fall stood as the game-winner as the No. 20 Amherst College women's soccer team downed Little III rival Wesleyan University, 1-0, to hand the Cardinals their first loss of the year Saturday afternoon at Jackson Field.

With the win, Amherst improves to 8-1-1 on the season and to 4-1-1 in conference action, while Wesleyan falls to 6-1-0 overall (4-1-0 NESCAC). Amherst returns to the field tomorrow, Sunday, October 10 when they host Bates College at Hitchcock Field beginning at 1:00PM.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• Senior Natalie Landau had one of the Mammoths' best chances of the first half, with the forward meeting a through pass from Sophia Fikke '22 seven-yards from frame. Landau's shot sailed inches wide of the far left post however, as Wesleyan's keeper cut down the angle just enough to deflect the ball off her arm.
• Audrey Lavey had a solid chance to get the Cardinals on the board with 37:50 remaining in regulation as she drove a shot towards target from 25-yards out, but sophomore Mika Fisher was unfazed by the laser as she timed her full extension jump perfectly to punch the ball over the net to keep the game scoreless.
• Needing only five passes to move the ball the length of the field following a Cardinals turnover, Amherst broke the scoreless deadlock with 31:24 on the clock to take a 1-0 lead. Running onto a leading pass from Julia Ralph '22 from 10 yards inside Mammoths' territory, Kum out muscled two defenders to earn control on the ball before cutting back to set up a 1-v-0. Dribbling around the keeper who had come off the line, Kum chipped a left-footed shot into the opposite corner for the game-winner.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Racking up six saves, Fisher (8-1-1) earned the win in goal for the Mammoths, while Sarah Hammond (6-1-0) made three stops for Wesleyan in the losing effort.
• The Cardinals owned the advantage in shots on goal, 6-4, and corner kicks, 10-4.