AMHERST, MASS. – A late goal for the Mammoths was not enough this Wednesday night on Hill Field. The #14-ranked Amherst College field hockey team fell in a 2-1 decision to #6-ranked Tufts University in NESCAC play.
The Mammoths' record now stands at 6-5 overall and 2-5 in conference play this season.
Next up for the Mammoths is an away game against Smith College on Wednesday (10/16) at 6:30 p.m.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
* The first half of the game remained scoreless in a tight battle between the Jumbos and the Mammoths. Tufts was awarded a penalty corner roughly six minutes into the game and a shot was fired that was saved by goalie,
Grace Puchalski.
* The Mammoths gained possession of the ball and set up
Molly Donegan and
Chloe Agopian to fire promising shots that were saved by the Jumbo's goalie and then Tufts' back Kate Mackenzie, who batted Agopian's shot out of a wide-open goal.
Molly Donegan fired another shot two minutes later that narrowly missed the goal and went out of play.
* Tufts's Malo fired a rocket that was knocked away from the goal by Katie Savino in a defensive save.
* Sam Maynard ran the ball across the field and made it into the shooting circle, dodging two of Tuft's defenders to fire a shot that was saved by the Jumbo's goalie.
* The game's first goal was scored in the third quarter (31:33) when the Jumbos found a hole in the Mammoths' defense, tipping the ball into the goal.
* Amherst drew a penalty corner not long after and set up Anna Aiello for a shot that was slightly wide of the goal. Tufts scored a second goal (40:09) in the third quarter, elevating the score to 2-0.
* The Mammoths continued to battle in the fourth quarter, playing aggressive offense. Abbey Kays fired a shot that was saved by the goalie. About three minutes later, the Mammoths' offense ran the ball into the circle and Justine Liguori gained possession, Molly Donegan received a well struck pass from Liguori in front of the goal and backhanded a shot past the Tufts goalkeeper Lydia Eastburn, putting the Mammoths on the board with 9:56 remaining in the game. It was Donegan's fourth goal in the 2024 season.
* With 54 seconds left, the Mammoths nearly found the equalizer. Sam Maynard made a great run into the circle and slid a pass in front of the goal for Donegan, who was unattended but who just missed putting a stick on the ball. With 7.1 seconds to go Amherst was awarded a penalty corner. The ball was inserted to Kate Smith, whose first shot was blocked. Smith collected the rebound and backhanded a shot toward the goal that found the stick of Maynard, but her redirect was stopped by Eastburn as time expired.
BY THE NUMBERS:
* The Mammoths had a 10-5 edge in shots on goal, with a 5--4 disadvantage in penalty corners.
* Puchalski made two saves for Amherst, while Eastburn had six for the Jumbos.
* Amherst's record against Tufts now stands at 10-17.
