Around the Herd: Oct. 16 to Oct. 22 in Athletics

Football

The football team faced off against the Colby College Mules this past Saturday.

The Mammoths fought valiantly against Colby, yet the Mules gained a 31-0 lead going into the fourth quarter. Quarterback Marek Hill ’28 got his first start at the position, amassing 134 passing yards, a passing touchdown, and an interception. A 10-play drive starting in the third quarter and ending in the fourth resulted in Cato Legaspi ’26 catching a 19-yard reception from Hill and getting Amherst on the scoreboard. Legaspi led the team in receiving yards, while Carter Jung ’26 led the team in receptions with six. Defensive highlights from the game include Ty Kazanowsky ’27, who collected nine total tackles, and Ben Taylor ’25, who registered Amherst’s only sack. Amherst fell to Colby with a score of 38 to 7.

The team will try to bounce back this weekend in their Homecoming game against Wesleyan University.

Women’s Soccer

After a tough loss against Tufts, the women’s soccer team got back on track with games against Hamilton and Sarah Lawrence.

Amherst played Hamilton away this past Saturday and got off to a fiery start. Patience Kum ’25 drew a penalty kick for the Mammoths two minutes into the game and stepped up to put it in the back of the net. The shot, however, was blocked by Hamilton’s keeper. In the 14th minute, Hamilton capitalized off a through ball into an upper right-corner shot, making the score 1-0. Amherst continued to test the goalkeeper, attempting 17 shots in the first half, five of which were on target. Amherst’s first goal would come in the second half when Halle Hanna ’26 rebounded a shot from Caroline Coletti ’28 and tied the game up. Abigail Danso ’28 sent a ball into the opponent’s box, which resulted in a Hamilton defender accidentally scoring an own goal and giving Amherst the lead. In the 89th minute, however, Hamilton found the equalizer off a corner kick and scored 2-2. Despite having 33 more shot attempts than Hamilton, Amherst only managed to secure a tie against the Continentals.

The Mammoths played at home against Sarah Lawrence on Sunday, generating goal after goal. Jessica Lomo ’27 started the goal-fest 23 minutes into the match, followed swiftly by Coletti, who scored a goal 18 seconds later and another roughly two minutes later. The second-half goal-scoring opened up with another excellent goal from Lomo in the 69th minute, and Millie McLeod ’28 scored only 40 seconds after Lomo’s second goal. The game’s final goal was from Precious Novidzro ’27 in the 73rd minute, her second goal of the season. The game ended in a dominant win for Amherst, beating Sarah Lawrence 6-0.

The women’s soccer team will take on Bowdoin College this Saturday for their Senior Day game.

Men’s Cross Country

The men’s cross country team competed at the Connecticut College Invitational this past Saturday.

Harrison Dow ’27 dominates the competition with a 6th overall placement and time of 24:21. Nick Edwards-Levin ’25 finished next at 24:38 and 17th overall, and Henry Dennen ’26 placed 19th overall with a 24:39 time. Stan Craig ’27 followed with a 40th overall finish and time of 24:59. Our 5th place runner was Ben Kasen ’28, who clocked in at 25:16 and earned 54th overall in the race. All five runners attained personal best times during this competition, and the team overall placed 4th.

On Nov. 2nd, the Mammoths will face off in the NESCAC Championships at Bowdoin College.

Women’s Cross Country

The women’s cross country team traveled to Connecticut and clashed against other teams at the Connecticut College Invitational this past weekend.

Flora Biro ’28 continues her incredible first-year performance, clocking in at 21:14 and placing 5th overall. Hannah Stephenson ’28 followed Biro with a 22:09 time and 39th overall placement, while Sylvan Wold ’25 finished 4 seconds behind her and earned 43rd overall. Julia Schor ’25 and Addison McGoey ’28 round out the top five, finishing 60th at 22:29 and 68th at 22:34, respectively. The Mammoths placed 5th out of the 37 participating teams.

The women’s cross country team will head to Bowdoin College on November 2nd to compete in the NESCAC Championships.

Field Hockey

The women’s field hockey team had two shut-out wins against Smith College and Hamilton College this week.

In Northampton this past Wednesday, the Mammoths found an early lead against the Pioneers on a penalty corner. The goal was scored by Molly Donegan ’26 off an assist from Abbey Kays ’25 and insertion from Kate Smith ’25 five minutes into the game. Amherst would double their lead with ten minutes left in the second quarter when Donegan received a ball from Isa Lattuada ’26, dodged her defender, and passed the ball to Liguori who flicked it into the net. The Pioneers had a close chance with five minutes left in the second quarter, but a diving save from goaltender Grace Puchalski ’27 and defensive pressure from Donegan kept Smith scoreless. The Mammoths would go into half time up 3-0 after Donegan collected a wide shot from Caroline Busler ’28 and passed it to Lattuada who shot it into the net. After inserting the ball to Lattuada on a penalty corner, Kate Smith ’25 tapped the ball into the net five minutes into the third quarter. The Mammoths found success again on the penalty corner just three minutes later when Genevieve Caruso ’27 earned her first goal of the season with an assist from Maya Harrington ’27. Minutes into the fourth quarter, the Mammoths scored their final goal after Samantha Norman ’27 found Kays whose shot bounced into the goal after deflecting off a Smith defender. In the last minutes of the game, Kate Grady ’28 made her collegiate debut, replacing Puchalski in net. The final score was 6-0 for Amherst, with the Mammoths outshooting the Pioneers 26-12.

The Mammoths continued their success this past Saturday with a dominant start against the Continentals. After five shots on goal, Anna Aiello ’26 was the first to score for the Mammoths after netting an assist from Sam Maynard ’25 on the penalty corner. The duo would score again the same way after Amherst was awarded another penalty corner in the 11th minute of the second quarter. Maynard would add a goal to her two assists in the third quarter after a shot from Lattuada deflected off Maynard’s stick. Five minutes later, Donegan slipped a shot from Maynard into the net. The third quarter ended with a fifth goal for the Mammoths when a pass from Agopian found Busler in front of goal on a penalty corner. Early in the fourth quarter, Paige DiBiase ’25 intercepted a Hamilton pass and found an open Caruso who added to Amherst’s scoresheet when she bested the Continentals’ goaltender. The last goal was scored by Smith after she deflected a shot from Emily Huehn ’28. Goalkeepers Puchalski and Sara Nidus ’25 combined in net to keep Hamilton scoreless. With shots on goal 14-1 for Amherst, the Mammoths ended the game 7-0.

The team will celebrate Senior Day next Saturday as they host NESCAC rival Bowdoin College.

Volleyball

This week, the women’s volleyball team faced NESCAC rivals Connecticut College and Trinity College.

On Friday night, the Mammoths began their match against the Connecticut College with close battle, tying with the Camels on nine separate instances. Sofia Camilo ’28, and Kinsey Cronin ’26 produced kills for Amherst. After a deficit of 18-17, Connecticut College responded by winning seven of the next eight points. Despite a kill from Anaya Thomas ’25, the Camels took the set 25-20. This momentum continued for Connecticut in the second set as they controlled 17-10 after the Mammoths initial lead of 10-9. Kills from Charlotte Rasmussen ’26, Brielle Renwick ’27, and Audrey Krichev ’28 kept the Mammoths from trailing, but the Camels took the set 25-19. Both teams were evenly matched in the third as the score was tied 24-24. The set continued until a pair of kills from Camilo gave the Mammoths a set victory of 38-36. The fourth set saw an initial tie of 11-11, but the Camels found an offensive surge to advance 21-11. In spite of a final push from Amherst, Connecticut took the set 25-18 and secured a 3-1 win.

The next day the Mammoths started with a strong offense against the Bantams. Kills from Thomas and Renwick gave Amherst a lead of 9-4, while attacks from Cronin made the score 18-13. The Mammoths took the set 25-17. In the second set, Thomas and Rasmussen kept the score tied 9-9 for the Mammoths. Trinity would never trail afterward, taking the set 25-16. The Bantams had an early lead of 10-5 in the third set. Rasmussen produced two kills and a service ace (one of five she had in the game) to narrow Amherst’s deficit to 13-11. With three kills, Ellie Myers ’28 made efforts to keep the Mammoths close, but Trinity won the set 25-19. In the last set, Myers and Zosia Teraszkiewicz ’28 produced kills to give the Mammoths a lead of 15-11 after an initial 9-9 tie. The Bantams responded by regaining the lead, then winning five consecutive points to then win the set 25-19 and the match 3-1.

Next Saturday, the team will travel to play Emerson College.  

Men’s Soccer

Over the weekend, the men’s soccer team traveled to play Hamilton College.

The Mammoths had a strong offensive start against the Continentals, spending the majority of the first half on Hamilton’s side of the field. In the 25th minute, Amherst had a close chance when a shot from Mohammed Nuhu ’27 was narrowly saved by the Continentals’ goalkeeper. After taking a free kick with 20 minutes left in the first half, Nuhu received a pass from Ben Clark-Eden ’25 and lobbed the ball to Fynn Hayton-Ruffner ’25 who shot it into the net. The Mammoths continued to dominate possession and opportunities in the second half. With 12 minutes left in the game, Hamilton found an offensive stride and were able to tie the game after drawing a penalty kick. Amherst responded five minutes later when Niall Murphy ’25 scored the game winning goal off a chip from Nuhu. The Mammoths won 2-1 and out shot Hamilton 21-12.

The team will face another NESCAC foe in Bowdoin next Saturday.