Around the Herd: Oct. 14 to Oct. 19 in Athletics

Volleyball

This week, volleyball faced off against conference opponents Bates and Tufts.

The Mammoths hosted Bates on Friday. After an impressive 6-2 start, Amherst’s lead began to dwindle as Bates caught up, with the Bobcats getting within one score several times. Yet, the Mammoths never let them equalize and took the first set 25-22 on a block by Sofia Camilo ’28. Despite Amherst keeping the score close throughout the second set and a valiant six-point Mammoth rally at its end, Bates won the second set 25-23. In the third set, Amherst ran away with the lead late by outscoring Bates 8-1 in a deciding spurt. A kill from Camilo and a Bates attack error were enough for Amherst to take the set, winning 25-18. In the game’s final set, the Mammoths carried over their dominant third-set performance. Taking a 7-1 lead, Amherst maintained distance from Bates, and cruised to a 25-16 victory. Addison Lau ’29 and Gabrielle Hines ’29 led the team in kills, with 19 and 18, respectively. Additionally, Judith Subirats-Bosch ’29 and Liliana Brandt ’30 had 29 and 24 assists, respectively. 

On Saturday, Amherst played Tufts, who the Mammoths had not beaten since 2018. In a heated first set, Amherst went on a 7-1 run after a tight opening to make the score 14-8 in their favor. Tufts was unable to close the gap, resulting in a 25-16 Amherst first set win. The close battle between the Jumbos and Mammoths continued into the second set, with the teams neck-and-neck at 16-15 Amherst. After a kill and ace from Lau, an ace from Tiana Richardson ’27, and two attack errors from Tufts, Amherst pushed its lead to 22-16. Winning the second set 25-21, Amherst then lost the third 25-1. In the fourth set, Tufts opened strong, taking a 10-4 lead. The Mammoths stormed back though, scoring seven unanswered to take a 20-17 lead. The set came down to the wire, with Amherst narrowly up 23-22. Two Hines kills carried Amherst over the finish line, and they won the set 25-23, breaking their losing streak. Hines and Lau again led the team in kills, this time with 15 and 12, respectively. Brandt and Subirats-Bosch too also led the team in their category, with 19 and 18 assists respectively. 

Volleyball improves to 10-9 overall and 3-6 in conference. They visit Wellesley College and Emerson College this week. 

Women’s Cross Country

The women’s cross country team delivered a solid performance this past weekend at the Connecticut College invitational six-kilometer race, with the team finishing 11th out of 18 to improve upon their performance last year and make a strong case for themselves heading into post-season racing. 

Despite the last-minute scratch of one of the Mammoth’s top performers, Katie Greenwald ’29, other team members stepped up in her absence during the race. Coming in first for the Amherst pack was Sydney Remenar ’30, who finished 26th overall with a time of 21 minutes. Next was Nikki Chopra ’27, who came in just after the 22-minute mark to notch 56th place overall. Taylor Gudebski ’28 topped her personal best, recording a 22:42 to secure a 104th-place finish with Eva Muzichenko ’30 right behind her at 114th with a time of 22:50. Rounding out the Mammoths’ seven scorers were Nora Hart ’28 (126th, 22:58), Emma Vatnsdal ’30 (196th, 23:50.7), and Grace Alexander ’30 (214th, 24:11.4). 

This Amherst squad will next travel to Middlebury, VT, to race against the rest of the conference in the NESCAC Championships on Saturday, Oct. 31, where they will have one last opportunity to finalize their racing roster before the postseason. 

Men’s Cross Country

The men’s cross country team shined last weekend at the prestigious Mike Woods Invitational before unfortunately showing some signs of struggle at the Connecticut College Invitational, though they delivered strong individual performances at both. 

Last Friday, the Mammoths took on a tough bout of competition at one of the most competitive regular-season races of the fall. The team had a whopping three finishers in the top 10, with Stan Craig ’27 leading the charge and notching a second-place finish, running a 25:08 eight-kilometer time. Not far behind were Harrison Dow ’27 and Carter Bengston ’29, who finished 4th at 25:16 and 10th at 25:25, respectively. Rounding out the rest of the Mammoth’s scoring eight were Ryan Monohan ’30 (37th, 26:37), Michael Rynne ’30 (45th, 27:01), Caleb Barnes ’29 (46th, 27:12), and Ben Kasen ’28 (53rd, 27:25), giving the Mammoths a point total of 197 and placing them 5th out of the 19 teams invited. 

Saturday’s competition featured a new batch of runners, with highlights including a personal best from Tim Churchill ’29, finishing below 26 minutes at 25:56. Seniors Harrison Talcott ’27 and Jacob Connolly ’27 ran together, and finished 151st at 26:03 and 157th at 26:07, respectively. Other scoring runners included Ethan Dryden ’29 (174th, 26:20) and Carter Rauch ’28 (196th, 26:37). 

The Mammoths will regroup in two weeks’ time with their sights set on the NESCAC Championship race hosted by Middlebury on Saturday, Oct. 31. 

 Women’s Soccer

The women’s soccer team played against Colby and Bates this week.

On Saturday, the team traveled to Waterville, ME, to face Colby. By the 14th minute, the Mules scored two goals against the Mammoths, an advantage which remained intact through the rest of the first half. In the 57th minute, Colby scored again, making the score 3-0 in its favor. Throughout the game, Amherst struggled to record attempts on goal, taking a total of six shots yet forcing the Colby keeper to make a save only twice. The Mules, by comparison, took 25 shots and forced Amherst’s Corina Bellermann ’30 into seven saves, although three got past the keeper. By the match’s end, Colby was victorious, besting Amherst 3-0.

Amherst put up a stronger performance in Sunday’s game against Bates, but faced many similar issues from the previous match. Two minutes into the game, Bates sent the ball into the net, making it 1-0 in its favor. A foul by Pao Monter ’28 then led to a penalty kick for the Bobcats, which they capitalized on to tally another goal in the 21st minute. While Amherst was able to take 12 shots, four of which were on frame, none of them got past the goalkeeper. The Mammoths also dominated in the corner kick battle, with six set pieces from the corner to the Bobcats’ none. Still, Amherst was unable to make anything out of these opportunities. Bates would put the game away with another goal in the 87th minute, beating Amherst 3-0.

The women’s soccer team, whose record is 5-8 overall and 0-8 in the conference, will play two more games this season against Wesleyan on Oct. 24 and Trinity on Oct. 27. 

Men’s Soccer

Last week, the men’s soccer team defeated Colby on Saturday and battled to a scoreless tie against Bates on Sunday. 

In Waterville, ME, Amherst came from behind to defeat the Mules 3-1 in their first NESCAC win. In the 20th minute, Colby took a 1-0 lead when they scored off a rebound from a saved penalty kick. Amherst responded in the 33rd minute when Riley Priddy ’27 found the back of the net off a corner kick, with Finn Hoefer ’29 earning the assist. Just before halftime, Jacob Dinzeo ’28 delivered a ball into the box, which Sam Davis ’28 found the end of and headed in to give the Mammoths a 2-1 lead heading into halftime. In the 70th minute, Dinzeo assisted Priddy for his second goal of the game, extending the Mammoths’ lead to 3-1. Trey Sheppard ’28 and the Amherst defense held off the Mules’ late attempts to secure their victory. Amherst recorded 15 shots to Colby’s 11 and placed seven shots on target compared to Colby’s three. 

The team continued their Maine tour in Lewiston to face Bates in another conference matchup. The Mammoths had several early scoring opportunities, including two from Obed Opoku ’28 and a blocked penalty kick from Mohammed Nuhu ’27. The match remained scoreless at halftime, with Sheppard making a save in the 45th minute to deny Bates a scoring opportunity. Amherst continued to pressure the Bobcats in the second half, but the Mammoths suffered a setback in the 54th minute when Danny Stanger ’30 received a red card, leaving Amherst with 10 players for the remainder of the match. Despite the disadvantage, the Mammoths continued to create chances while Sheppard and the defense held strong. Sheppard made crucial saves late in the game to secure the 0-0 draw. The Bobcats recorded four shots on goal to Amherst’s three, and Sheppard finished with four saves.

Amherst’s record is now 5-3-4 overall (1-3-4 NESCAC). Amherst returns home on Saturday to face Wesleyan.

Field Hockey

The field hockey team had a busy week, besting Smith 4-2, Bates 2-1, and falling to Colby 3-2 in overtime. 

Against Smith, the Mammoths came out swinging. From Devon Watson ’29’s corner, Cate LaFreniere ’30 polished off a nice assist from Emily Huehn ’28. Smith fought back in the second, tying the game at 1-1. In the third quarter, Caroline Busler ’28 put Amherst back in the lead, finding the net after a deflected shot by LaFreniere. Yet Smith equalized again, evening the score at 2-2. Emboldened, Mammoths charged, with Genevieve Caruso ’27 capitalizing off a nice assist from LaFreniere to reclaim the momentum. One more goal from Bella Kim ’29, assisted by Watson, sealed a 4-2 Amherst victory. 

The team then traveled to Maine to face Colby. After a scoreless first stanza, Kim broke the stalemate, scoring eight minutes into the second frame. With just over two minutes remaining in the quarter, Katie Savino ’28 collected a rebound in front of Colby’s goal and found Caruso who extended the Mammoth’s lead to 2-0. In the third quarter, Colby drew a penalty corner and scored, getting on the board. Then, with six minutes left in the game, the Mules scored again, tying the game 2-2 and sending it into overtime. After a foiled Amherst attempt, Colby scored eight minutes into extra time, winning the game 3-2. Despite the loss, Amherst decisively outshot Colby 36 to nine. 

Last on the schedule was Bates, and the Mammoths again took an early lead, when Caruso slapped one in off a Huehn assist five minutes into the game. Dylan Bloom ’27 furthered this momentum, assisting LaFreniere who extended the lead to 2-0. In the second quarter, Grace Puchalski ’27 saved all three Bates’s shots. After a quiet third quarter, Bates eventually broke through in the forth and found the back of the net after an additional three attempted shots. The Mammoths held on, thwarting the last of the Bobcat efforts and walked away with a deserved 2-1 victory. In the match, Amherst outshot Bates 9-8 and outsaved them 4-1, with all four saves coming from Puchalski. 

The Mammoths now hold an 8-5 record overall and are 3-5 in NESCAC play. For their next game, Amherst will host Wesleyan on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 12 p.m. 

Football

The football team continues to deliver, defeating longtime foe Colby 21-15 for the first time since 2019 and improving to a whopping 5-0. 

The first quarter was a defensive battle on both ends, with the Mules containing this fiery Amherst offense and forcing a safety and the Mammoths allowing just three points from an impressive Mules offense. Though Wyatt Morgan ’28 and Noah Onkst ’28 pressured the opposing quarterback, Colby scored to begin the second quarter and extended their lead to 12-0. With six minutes left in the half, Amherst’s offense got going. The Mammoths took advantage of a botched punt to start their drive at Colby’s own 24-yard line. As he’s done all season, Marek Hill ’28 continued to make big plays when it matters most, immediately capitalizing on the situation and finding his favorite target — Max Alexander ’29 — for a 21-yard reception. Hill then rushed it in from the 3-yard line for Amherst’s first score of the day.

After each team went scoreless in the third quarter, the Mammoths entered the fourth still down five. The most notable play of the quiet period was Efe Ilgar ’29’s whopping 75-yard punt, just three yards shy of an Amherst all-time record. The fourth quarter, however, was action-packed from front to back — and Amherst took the initiative. The dynamic duo of Hill and Alexander dazzled, with Hill finding the receiver twice for a staggering 62 receiving yards. Coupled with carries by Demitrius Smith ’27 and Zachary Curtin ’28, the Mammoths found the endzone with Hill once again carrying it in for the score. A failed two-point conversion attempt left the Mammoths down by two with 7:59 on the clock. The Amherst defense needed a stop, and the defensive pair of Jordan Summers ’29 with Colin Schied ’28 delivered, forcing the Mules to lose yardage and, eventually, into punting. After one more back-and-forth exchange between the two teams, Amherst found its offensive solution in Michael Dunmore ’29. The running back lit up the Colby defense in this final drive, rushing for 45 yards on four carries and receiving a touchdown pass. Dunmore topped off his monstrous effort by also converting the two-point attempt, putting the Mammoths up 21-15 with 25 seconds to go. Hill finished the game with 148 passing yards and 19 yards rushing, while Alexander notched 116 receiving yards, and Dunmore rushed for 62. The defense delivered with notable performances from three seniors: Tylik Sims ’27 with nine tackles, Ty Kazanowsky ’27 with six plus an additional sack, and Carson Skotak ’27 with five tackles, a sack, and 17 yards of forced deficit for the Mules’ offense. 

The Mammoths remain in a three-way tie atop the NESCAC rankings and look forward to an undefeated showdown against the Wesleyan Cardinals at Lehrman Stadium for the homecoming game. 

Head of the Herd - Gabrielle Hines ’29

The volleyball team had a huge week, notching two wins over formidable NESCAC opponents in Tufts and Bates. Both matches ended in 3-1 victories, but every set was a wall-to-wall battle, and Amherst often came back from deficits. Sophomore outside hitter Gabrielle Hines ’29 was a key component of the victorious weekend, recording 33 kills on 37 attempts. Hines shined brightest against Tufts, recording the final kill which won the fourth set and the match. Hines noted: “It was really rewarding to see everything we’ve been practicing finally come together on the court, and I want to keep building on what’s been working for me in these past few games while trusting the process and hoping for the best. This is a really special team, and I think the belief we have in each other is going to be huge as we finish out the season.” For her outstanding performance in two resounding wins, Hines is crowned this week’s Head of the Herd.