Around the Herd: Nov. 12 to Nov. 16 in Athletics

Field Hockey

This week, the field hockey team competed in the NCAA Championship tournament. On Wednesday, Nov. 12, the team posted a comeback, overtime 2-1 victory against the Stevens Institute of Technology. On Saturday, the team fell 1-0 to NESCAC champion Bates. 

The first period was evenly matched on Wednesday. The first offensive chance came from Amherst in the 10th minute after Molly Donegan ’26 drew a penalty corner. A pass from Anna Aiello ’26 found Emma Zhang ’29, but the midfielder’s shot was blocked and cleared by Steven’s defense. Less than five minutes later, the Ducks were granted back-to-back penalty corners of their own, but Maya Harrington ’27 and Katie Savino ’28’s combined defense stopped both attempts. Stevens got onto the scoreboard first early in the second quarter off another penalty corner. Minutes later, Bella Kim ’29’s penalty corner attempt went just wide of the net. With only three minutes until the end of the quarter, Amherst found the equalizer when Justine Liguori ’26 launched the ball into the goal off an assist from Donegan. The third quarter was scoreless thanks to both teams’ goaltenders; Grace Puchalski ’27 saved a point-blank shot from a Ducks’ forward, and Steven’s netminder saved shots from Devon Watson ’29 and Donegan. The Mammoths found an offensive stride in the final stanza as they worked to gain the lead, but nothing solidified. Steven’s goalie made a diving save to prevent a shot from Watson towards the right post, and Liguori’s two shots were redirected wide of the goal. The 1-1 stalemate sent the match to overtime. In the first period of extra time, Puchalski made a crucial save off a Ducks’ penalty corner. A few seconds later, on Amherst’s own corner chance, a shot from Emily Huehn ’28 was deflected just over the crossbar. With neither team finding the back of the net, the game was sent to a shootout. Liguori, Zhang, and Genevieve Caruso ’27 all netted scores to tie the shootout at three apiece. Zhang returned to the 23-meter line and fired a backhanded shot that put the Mammoths in the lead. The subsequent attempt from Stevens — the deciding goal — was blocked by Puchalski, securing a 2-1 comeback win for Amherst. 

Three days later, in the NCAA second round, the Mammoths and Bobcats both got off to hot starts. Only 28 seconds into the game, Liguori fired a shot toward the right corner that was narrowly blocked by a Bates defender. A minute later, the Bobcats responded quickly with a penalty corner, but Harrington successfully blocked and cleared the ball. In the final seconds of the quarter, Caruso delivered a hard shot that forced Bates’s goaltender to make a save. Later, early in the second quarter, a Bobcat forward found a breakaway chance and raced toward Amherst’s goal undefended, but an impeccable save from Puchalski kept the match scoreless. After halftime, Bates opened the scoring after they were granted three consecutive penalty corners. In the 10th minute of the same quarter, Watson deked her defender to register a shot that went wide. In the fourth quarter, the Mammoths pressed hard to even the score; Caruso and Liguori launched back-to-back shots towards the net, but the Bobcats’ defense was unrelenting. The match ended 1-0 for the home team, ending Amherst’s NCAA tournament run.

The team ended its season ranked No. 25 in the country, finishing with an overall record of 9-9 and a 4-6 record against NESCAC opponents.

Men’s Soccer

The men’s soccer team travelled to SUNY Cortland to play Catholic University on Saturday, in the first round of the NCAA Championship tournament, and lost 1-0.

The game began with the two evenly-matched teams going head-to-head. The Cardinals received an early yellow card for their physical play before a weather delay sent both teams to their respective locker rooms for an extended period of time. Taking this time to regroup, the Mammoths came out strong: Leo Wilensky ’29 registered a shot on goal out of the break, which was saved by Catholic’s keeper. Both teams continued to put the pressure on. Toward the end of the first half, some rough play resulted in yellow cards being shown to Amherst’s Timothy Chow ’29 and a Cardinal player. Amherst was awarded the free kick, but was unable to find the back of the net.

In the second half, the two scoreless teams continued their fast-paced play. Riley Priddy ’27 sent a shot in from the back row, which was blocked, and Kavi Krishnan ’28 had a strong chance, which went wide. Jacob Dinzeo ’28 picked up a yellow card, but again, the offensive advantage for Catholic was not enough to result in a scoring play. As the final regulation minutes wound down, Obed Opoku ’28 had a great look, but it was blocked by a Cardinal player before hitting the back of the net. Later, a beautiful take by Vincent Akanbo ’29 looked like it was going in, but it hit the post, sending the two teams to overtime. In overtime, Opoku’s foul on a Cardinal player inside the box resulted in a penalty kick, which Catholic capitalized on, slipping it past Amherst goalkeeper Trey Sheppard ’28. The 1-0 lead was the final overtime score. In the loss, Priddy, Opoku, and Wilensky led the team with three shots apiece as the Mammoths outshot the Cardinals 14-9. 

In the end, the men’s soccer team concluded its season with one more loss than they had hoped, finishing 8-6-3 and falling short of defending the national title. 

Women’s Soccer

Like the men, the women’s soccer team also traveled to SUNY Cortland to play in the NCAA Championship tournament. On Saturday, they defeated Cortland 2-0, before falling to Messiah University 1-0 the following day.

Amherst found its rhythm against Cortland early in the second half. An impeccable corner kick found Kate Quigley ’26 in the box for the header, and Cortland scrambled at the last minute to clear the ball off the goal line. Minutes later, Caroline Coletti ’28 collected a ball at the top of the box and juked out her defender, turning and blasting a shot. The Cortland keeper, caught off guard, was unable to stop it, and Amherst took a 1-0 lead. Later, the Mammoths exploited a Cortland defender who overplayed the ball. Millie McLeod ’28 sent the ball upfield in space, where Jessica Lomo ’27 controlled it. Lomo shot the ball top left for the 2-0 lead in the 85th minute. The Mammoths would not concede, claiming the 2-0 first-round victory.

Less than 24 hours later, they returned to a windy pitch to take on Messiah University. Just one minute into the game, Messiah earned a corner kick and forced an early save from Lulu Fickes ’26. Unfortunately for Amherst, Messiah kept up the offensive attack. Just past the seven-minute mark, a defensive miscommunication left two players open in the box, one of whom was able to boot the ball past Amherst for the 1-0 score. With plenty of time left in the game, the Mammoths remained composed. Lomo, Katie Pedersen ’27, and Sophia Haynes ’26 all registered shots on goal, but none of them made it past the Messiah keeper. Messiah retained the lead heading into the half, which looked similar to the first. The Mammoths continued looking for strong chances, but the wind and strong Messiah defensive and midfield play prevented them from finding success. As time wound down, Messiah began stalling and kicking any and all Mammoth offensive chances in the opposite direction. Ultimately, Amherst could not equalize, falling in the second round of the tournament 1-0.

Women’s soccer concluded its season with an impressive 11-5-2 record. The senior class graduates with three NESCAC Tournament rings and plenty of additional accolades. 

Women’s Basketball

The women’s basketball team opened its season this weekend at LeFrak Gymnasium with a strong 76-55 win over Arcadia University. 

In the first quarter, Amherst jumped ahead with a 34-9 lead. With impressive statistics from the field and the 3-point line, they built an early advantage that they upheld throughout the game. Though Arcadia had some brief success in the second quarter, Amherst responded very quickly after halftime, gaining a 33-point lead — the largest of the game. All four freshmen — Za’Nyah Bernard ’29, Olivia Soenens ’29, Avery Myerberg ’29, and Chase Anderson ’29 — contributed greatly to the team’s decisive victory with rebound efforts, sharp 3-pointers, and dynamic passes. Anna Tranum ’26 tied her career high, scoring the most points of the game with 20 of the Mammoth’s 76 overall, followed by Laura Mendell ’26 with 17 and Anderson with 13. Annie McCarthy ’26 had the most rebounds with a pugnacious total of seven boards to set Amherst up for some of its many strong drives up the court that ended in successful shots. The Mammoths controlled the game through the fourth quarter, maintaining the energy they brought from the start. Overall, the team shot 52.6% from the field, 38.5% from the 3-point line, and 68.8% from the free-throw line. 

For their next game on Wednesday, Nov. 19, the Mammoths will travel to Bridgewater, MA, to face Bridgewater State University at 6 p.m.

Men’s Basketball

The men’s basketball team opened its season this weekend at LeFrak Gymnasium, coming away with two victories: 68-53 over Rutgers-Camden and 96-52 over Elms College. 

In the opening round of the Ken Wright Invitational against Rutgers-Camden, the Mammoths brought the energy from jump, with three quick layups from Drew Martin ‘26, Zane Adnan ’27, and Elias Chin ’28. To secure the first 3-pointer of the game, Adnan passed to Nate Pabis ’27, who sank a solid shot and extended the lead to 9-5. Within two minutes, freshmen Brandon Margolin and K.J. Neville each secured their first collegiate points. Responding quickly to a 3-pointer from the Raptors, Johnny McCain ’27 added three points from the corner to maintain the Mammoth’s 16-8 lead. With a slight interruption to the momentum of the play, there were 11 free throws within three minutes on the clock. Getting back into a rhythm, Chin and Sherron Woodberry ’29 netted a layup and a 3-pointer, respectively, extending the gap to 30-15. Neville kicked off a shooting spree with a layup that was followed by junior Marc Garraud ’27 two free throws and a 3-pointer from Chris Hammond ’26 that brought the score to 63-43. The Mammoths played a dominant game with field goals (34.4% compared to Rugers-Camden’s 28.3%) and 3-pointers (28% compared to 23.1%). Chin led Amherst with 14 points, Hammond won a game-high 13 rebounds, and Adnan had a game-high of four steals. With a final layup from Martin, Amherst closed the game with a 68-53 victory. 

In its second game of the tournament, Amherst dominated Elms College for the duration of the matchup. At the helm was first-year Woodberry, who had an impressive 18-point game. Adnan had another strong game, kicking off the day with back-to-back baskets to bring Amherst’s lead to 7-4. Hammond, Martin, and Woodberry followed suit with a flurry of 3-pointers and layups throughout the game. The Mammoths closed out the half with a 47-29 lead that would only continue to grow in the remainder of the game. On the offensive advantage, Amherst converted 56.3% of its field goals compared to 31.5% from the Elms, along with 48.5% of its 3-pointers compared to 31.3%. Defensively, Martin made two blocks, and Garraud notched four steals. With the team bucketing 3-pointers until the end of the game, the game closed at a decisive 96-52 victory for the Mammoths.

Amherst closed the weekend with a 2-0 record, while Elms fell to 3-2 overall. Next, the team will travel to face Springfield College at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 18. 

Men’s Cross Country

This week, the men’s cross country team placed fifth in the NCAA Mideast Regional Championship on Saturday.

The Mammoths ran an eight-kilometer race against 26 other schools. Harrison Dow ’27 crossed the finish line first for Amherst. After rising from 35th at the 955-meter mark to within the top 10 at the three-mile mark, Dow finished in 25:22 to place 12th overall out of 179 runners. Finishing seconds later with a time of 25:32, Parker Boyle ’27 finished 16th after surging from 36th place a mile into the race. Finishing in 25:41, Henry Dennen ’26 ended as the 24th overall runner, advancing from his 28th-place finish at last year’s regional race. Carter Bengtson ’29 placed 29th, finishing in 25:44 in his regional debut. Rounding out the Mammoths’ scoring five runners, Thomas Stephens ’26 finished less than two seconds after Bengston to snag 30th place in 25:46. These finishes earned Amherst fifth place behind RPI, Williams, Middlebury, and Wesleyan. For finishing the race in the top 35, all five of the Mammoths’ scoring runners earned All-Region honors.

The team will race next on Saturday, Nov. 22 in the NCAA championship. 

Women’s Cross Country

On Saturday, the women’s cross country team ran in the NCAA Mideast Regionals, placing fourth overall.

Finishing first for Amherst in the six-kilometer race, Flora Biro ’28 rose from 21st at the 955-meter mark to finish 15th overall out of 185 runners in 22:25. Following closely behind, Katie Greenwald ’29 — in her regional debut — finished in 22:32 after surging from 30th place early on in the race to 17th at the finish line. Nikki Chopra ’27 also progressed through the race, rising from 46th to finish 20th in 22:36. Finishing in 22:55, Ava Thomas ’28 climbed from 45th place early in the race to finish 31st overall. To close out the Mammoth’s scoring, Audrey Seeger ’28 finished 46th with a time of 23:15 after advancing 16 spots. Amherst placed fourth overall with these finishes, behind NESCAC rivals Williams, Middlebury, and Connecticut College. Biro, Greenwald, Chopra, and Thomas earned All-Region honors for their top-35 placements.

On Saturday, Nov. 22, the team will travel to South Carolina to compete in the NCAA championship.

Men’s Hockey

The men’s ice hockey team opened its season this week, falling 5-1 to Hamilton on Friday.

In Clinton, New York, the Mammoths got off to a quick start against the reigning NESCAC champions. Amherst registered the first two shots on goal with attempts from Andrew Carmody ’26 and Zack Jesse ’27. The Continentals created offense of their own, however, recording the next seven shots and forcing the Mammoths’ goaltender, Andrew Palena ’27, to make three saves. Hamilton continued to put on pressure and opened the scoring 10 minutes into the game after a cross-ice pass was tapped into the back of the net. Amherst responded quickly. Just 30 seconds later, Matt Vander Vort ’27 collected a pass from Oliver Flynn ’27 and then slid the puck to Josh Burke ’26; the forward’s high glove-side shot tied the game, 1-1. With only two minutes left in the period, a Hamilton forward threaded through the Mammoths’ defense and went bardown to regain the lead. Amherst put on pressure at the start of the second period, forcing six of the frame’s first seven shots, but the Continentals’ defensive unit was unrelenting. Halfway through the period, Hamilton capitalized on its first power play, redirecting a pass into the net to score its third of the night. Just over two minutes later, a Continental’s one-timer from the blue line extended the lead to 4-1. Hamilton’s offensive prowess continued in the third period, but Vincent Lamberti ’29 — who relieved Palena midway through the second — made four key saves to mute the Continentals in his collegiate debut. Ten minutes into the period, Hamilton took advantage of another power play opportunity and sank the puck into the net. Despite late shot attempts from Amherst, the game ended in a 5-1 loss.

The team will return to the ice on Friday, Nov. 21, to face another conference opponent in Trinity.

Women’s Hockey

The No. 3-ranked women’s ice hockey team kicked its season off with a rivalry game away against Williams, tying 1-1 and winning 1-0 in the two-game series played this past weekend.

In the first game, the Mammoths struck first, as Maeve Reynolds ’26 slotted the puck into the back of the net just four minutes into the game. Roughly 13 minutes later, the Ephs would respond and tie the game up 1-1. Neither side could break the stalemate, with Amherst preventing any opposing scores thanks to goalkeeper Natalie Stott ’26’s 28 saves throughout the game. The game went to a scoreless fourth period, and eventually made it into a penalty shootout. After the first two shooters from Amherst and Williams missed, Reynolds stepped up and made it past the Ephs’ goalkeeper to go up one in the shootout. When Williams was unable to respond with its next attempt, Amherst won the shootout 1-0.

In Amherst’s second game against Williams, the contest was a back-and-forth affair, with both sides attempting shots left and right. The deadlock was broken when Amherst earned a power play against Williams in the second period, going up a man, and Gretchen Dann ’26 stepped up and scored the first goal for the Mammoths. Reynolds kept the offensive pressure up by firing three shots and maintaining possession through the 16 won faceoffs. The game saw no other score after Dann’s strike, once again thanks to Stott’s 33 marvelous saves, making 14 in the third period alone. Amherst walked away with the win against Williams, scoring 1-0.

The team will travel to New London, Connecticut, to play Connecticut College this Friday, Nov. 21, and Saturday, Nov. 22.

Men’s Swim & Dive

This week, the men’s swimming and diving team opened its season against Colby on Saturday, falling in a nail-biting 132-130.

On Saturday afternoon, the Mammoths competed in a thrilling meet against the Mules that was decided in the final race. In his collegiate debut, Owen Vale ’29 took first place in the 200-yard butterfly race, finishing in 1:53, followed closely by Henry LeCates ’26, whose time of 1:55 earned him second. Vale also finished first in the 200-yard individual medley, finishing the swim in 1:56. Joel Chen ’28 and Michael Jang ’26 placed second and third, with times of 1:59 and 2:00, respectively, to allow Amherst to sweep the event. The Mammoths also swept both breaststroke races. In the 100-yard breaststroke, Henry Liu ’27 touched the wall first in 57 seconds. With times of 58 and 60 seconds, respectively, Eric Albers ’28 and Jang placed second and third. Albers led Amherst’s dominant performance in the 200-yard breaststroke race, finishing in 2:08. Touching just behind him, Vale came in second with a time of 2.08, and Lui placed third with 2:10. These finishes earned the Mammoths 130 points, just two points behind Colby’s 132.

The team will return to the pool to race against Middlebury on Saturday, Nov. 22.

Women’s Swim & Dive

In its first meet of the season, the women’s swimming and diving team fell 152-146 against Colby on Saturday. 

Maeve Kelley ’27 lifted the Mammoths early, finishing the 200-yard freestyle in 1:55 to claim first place. Ava Insteness ’29 followed closely behind in second place with a time of 1:56. In the 200-yard butterfly event, Kelley came out on top again with a time of 2:08. Kelley went on to win her third first-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle with a finishing time of 5:11. Penny Lazar ’29’s time of 5:16 in the same event earned second place. Lazar also recorded a dominant victory in the 1,000-yard freestyle, finishing first in 10:44 after controlling the race from the first 100 yards. In the sprint events, Sydney Thompson ’28 finished second in the 50-yard freestyle in 24 seconds while Paige Arnold ’27 placed second in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 53 seconds. On the diving board, Donna Zhang ’26 won the one-meter diving competition with 266.69 points. Despite these strong finishes, the Mammoths found themselves bested by Colby.

The team will travel to Middlebury for its next meet on Saturday, Nov. 22.

Men’s Squash

The men’s squash team opened its season this past Sunday, beating NESCAC opponent Hamilton 9-0.

Of the nine matches played, the Mammoths only dropped two sets. Roman Parisi ’29, Joseph Toth ’27, Graeme Herbert ’28, Devon Osborne ’29, Flynn Venmore ’28, Fares Khairy ’28, Grady Herbert ’26, and Aiden Shap ’29 all swept their opponents. At the number nine spot, first-year Shap played the fastest match, besting his opponent in 20 minutes.

The Mammoths look to extend their dominant start to the season as they travel to New London, CT, to take on Connecticut College on Saturday, Nov. 22.

Women’s Squash

The women’s squash team started its season out hosting Hamilton on Sunday as well, beating them in a 9-0 statement win. The Mammoths did not drop a single set, going 27-0 on the day. All nine spots were victorious, with Quincy Cline ’27, Kanzy Elkaliuoby ’29, Anastasiia Krykun ’29, Alexandra Brown ’26, Kristen Daniel ’28, Yana Sharma ’27, Katherine Grissom ’29, Fionnoula Brandon ’29, and Clara Dawn ’28 all earning individual wins. Sharma only lost one point during her entire match, ending 33-1 on the day. In terms of time, the fastest win belonged to Brandon, who beat her Continental player in under 10 minutes. 

With this electric win under their belt, the Mammoths travel to New London, CT, to face Connecticut College on Saturday, Nov. 22.

Head of the Herd: Anna Tranum 

This week, the women’s basketball team kicked off its season in style, defeating Arcadia University 76-55. It was an all-around team victory with ten different point scorers, but senior Anna Tranum ’26 led the Mammoths with 20 points, tying her career high. She also paced the team with three rebounds and had zero turnovers on the day. For her banner performance, showing great promise for the Mammoth team, Tranum earns this week’s head of the herd,