Around the Herd: Sept. 16 to Sept. 21 in Athletics

Cross Country

This week, the women’s and men’s cross country teams ran in the Cardinal Invitational hosted by Wesleyan on Saturday, Sept. 12.

In Middletown, CT, the women’s team ran to a second-place finish in the 6-kilometer race against seven teams. Up first for the Mammoths, Sydney Remenar ’30 finished in 21:51 and placed third overall. Seconds later, Nikki Chopra ’27 and Kayla Werner ’28 finished in sixth and eighth with times of 22:05 and 22:11, respectively. Rounding out Amherst’s scoring five, Eva Muzichenko ’30 finished 13th in 22:28, and Ava Thomas ’28 finished 27th in 22:57. These performances earned the Mammoths 49 points, finishing short of Wesleyan’s winning 27. 

Competing against eight teams, the men’s team finished first on the 8-kilometer course. Crossing the finish line first for the Mammoths, Harrison Dow ’27 ran to a third-place finish overall in 24:33. Seconds later, Carter Bengtson ’29 finished in 24:37 to claim third. Finishing in 10th place, Parker Boyle ’27 ran a time of 25:01. After him, Caleb Barnes ’29 and Ben Kasen ’28 rounded out the Mammoths’ scoring runners, finishing in times of 25:19 and 25:28 to place 13th and 14th, respectively. Amherst earned 45 points from these finishes, besting WPI’s 62 and Wesleyan’s 71 to win the meet. 

Up next, both cross-country teams will compete in the Paul Short Run on Friday, Oct. 2. 

Volleyball

Volleyball began conference play this week, hosting Middlebury on Friday and Hamilton on Saturday in LeFrak Gymnasium. The Mammoths took sets in each contest, but fell short both times, losing 3-1 to the Panthers and 3-2 to the Continentals. 

Against Hamilton, Amherst took a moment to round into form, dropping the first set 26-24 and then playing a level below their best in an uneven second set, which ended 25-17 in favor of Hamilton. Even the third set started slowly, with Amherst dropping the first five points. Staring down this two-set-plus deficit, though, the Mammoths turned in their best volleyball of the weekend.

They won the third set with contributions from all over the court. Kills from Ellie Myers ’28, Garbielle Hines ’29, and Sofia Camilo ’28 won 11 points, aces from Hines, Stella Jacey ’29, and Lilliana Brandt ’30 claimed three more, and Amherst ended the set on a decisive 9-3 run. In the fourth frame, Amherst tallied another 14 kills, and Naima Cho-Khaliq ’29 added an ace of her own en route to a 25-21 set win. Despite the valiant comeback attempt, the Continentals took the decisive fifth set 15-11 and won the match.

The two losses drop Amherst to 4-4 on the season and leave them winless in NESCAC play. They resume in-conference play at home against Wesleyan on Friday, and will then travel to Hartford, CT to compete in the Hartford Tri-Match against Mount Saint Mary College and the University of Hartford next Saturday. 

Women’s Soccer

On Wednesday, the women’s soccer team dominated Springfield College 4-0 for their first clean sheet of the 2026 season. Then, on Saturday, the team fell to Middlebury 1-0 in a hard-fought game. 

The Mammoths commanded the game from the outset of their match against Springfield and did not back down, taking far more shots (21-6) and shots on goal (11-5) than the Pride. Only six minutes into the game, Emma Darling ’29 found Katerina Davis ’30, who netted the Mammoths’ first goal of the night. Later in the half, Davis kept up her momentum with an assist that set Jessica Lomo ’27 up for a sharp goal, bringing the score to 2-0 for Amherst. Shortly after halftime, Lomo delivered her second goal for the Mammoths off Darling’s second assist, extending their lead to 3-0. Refusing to get complacent, Amherst freshman Mandy Sutton ’30 scored in the 81st minute, assisted by Maya Siegel ’29. Three Amherst goalkeepers protected the Mammoths’ goal: Molly Davidson ’29, who had three saves, Corina Bellermann ’30, who had two, and Sara Nagle ’29, who closed out the game and preserved the shutout. 

Amherst played a laudable game against a strong Middlebury team on Saturday, despite ultimately falling 1-0. The Mammoths attempted 14 shots on goal, six of which were on target, and blocked six of the Panthers’ attempts, fighting hard for an equalizer until the 90th minute. Middlebury scored the only goal of the game on a penalty kick in the 30th minute. However, Amherst dominated the match, holding a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks that helped them maintain high pressure. This is mainly attributed to the outstanding efforts of midfielders Katie Pedersen ’27 and Ani Populoh ’29 in collecting loose balls in the middle and regaining possession. The match was physical, with the Mammoths called for 17 fouls and the Panthers for 14. The two games in the week brought Amherst’s record to 2-3 overall. 

For their next game, the Mammoths will travel to Smith on Tuesday, Sept. 22, for a non-conference matchup before a Saturday showdown against Williams. 

Men’s Soccer

Despite outshooting Middlebury 16-10, Amherst conceded a 1-0 loss to the rival Panthers at Hitchcock Field on Saturday. In this highly anticipated NESCAC matchup, Middlebury scored the day’s lone goal in the 28th minute and defended against Amherst’s fight in the next hour.

Leading the match were Obed Opoku ’28, Finn Hoefer ’29, and Mohammed Nuhu ’27. Notably, in the second half, Amherst put up nine shots and earned all four corner kicks, but the Panther goalkeeper Leon Brody defended strongly. Nuhu led with four shots and two on the goal, while Hoefer followed with four attempts. The loss brings Amherst to 2-2-1 overall and 0-2-1 in the NESCAC.

On Saturday, Sept. 26, the team will travel to face rival Williams. 

Field Hockey

This week, the Amherst field hockey team competed against Middlebury at home. Despite a hard-fought game, Middlebury bested the Mammoths, 3-0. 

The game began slowly, with no points scored in either the first or second quarter. The Amherst back line of Maya Harrington ’27, Emily Huhen ’28, and Katie Kantrovitz ’27 held the Panthers to just three shots on the first half. Additionally, goalkeeper Grace Puchalski ’27 remained solid for the Mammoths, closing out the first half with a key save.

Unfortunately, the Panthers broke through in the third quarter and scored back-to-back goals. The Mammoths valiantly tried to rally in the beginning of the fourth, but Middlebury netted an additional goal, sealing the deal and bringing the final score to 3-0. Puchalski ended the game with five saves to her name, four of which came in the third. 

Field hockey heads to Cambridge, MA on Wednesday to take on MIT before Saturday’s NESCAC matchup when they will take on Williams in a rivalry matchup. 

​Football

In the football team’s home opener, the Mammoths triumphed over Bates 24-14, thanks to a scoring surge late in the fourth quarter. 

The Bobcats opened the scoring by notching a touchdown early in the first. Despite drawing first blood, a stellar effort by the Mammoth defense, led by Jackson Duncan ’27 — who finished the game with nine tackles — and Gabe Taylor ’29 — who posted two key interceptions in the second quarter — held the Bobcats scoreless in the first half. 

All three Mammoths touchdowns marked career firsts, beginning with a huge 54-yard rush by Max Alexander ’29 to put the Mammoths at Bates’ six-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Marek Hill ’28 found Jadon Davis ’29 for a four-yard reception and evened the score at seven apiece. 

After a quiet third quarter in which both teams struggled to find the red zone, the Mammoths broke the silence early in the fourth with another key Hill-Alexander connection for a 47-yard reception. From there, Hudson Fulcher-Melendy ’28 drilled a 29-yard field goal to nudge the Mammoths ahead 10-7. 

The stage was set for a thrilling last three minutes after Bates took one the other way for a pick-six to reclaim the lead with only 3:13 left in play. The Mammoth’s first three plays came up short on the ensuing possession, but after a muffed punt by Bates, Ty Kazanowsky ’27 recovered the fumble and earned Amherst a fresh set of downs on Bates’ 43. From there, Hill found Davis once again for a 26-yard reception to put the Mammoths on the doorstep at the two-yard line. This time, it was running back Mike Dunmore ’29 who found the end zone, putting the Mammoths up 17-14 with 1:55 remaining. 

Bates would not go down quietly, but the Mammoths’ defense snuffed out any hope they had of a comeback. A pair of interceptions on Bates’ final two drives sealed the victory, the first by Jordan Summers ’29 for the pick-six that put Amherst up 10 with just 1:06 remaining, and the second by Carson Skotak ’27, who tipped it into the hands of Matt Callahan ’28 with 38 seconds on the clock. 

Following this statement performance, the Mammoths look forward to taking on Hamilton next weekend in Clinton, NY.

Head of the Herd - Max Alexander ’29

The football team took a commanding lead over a worthy Bates team thanks to the outstanding efforts of sophomore Max Alexander ’29. The wide receiver dominated the stat sheet, leading the team in both rushing yards (60) and receiving yards (48), and also set up both touchdown drives. “I feel really good about what we can do this year. A lot of guys stepped up and made big plays (today), which shows the caliber of team we have. We are just looking to build on this win and continue to improve every week,” Alexander said. For his commanding offensive display and leading the Mammoths out of a scoring deficit, he earns the title of this week’s Head of the Herd.