Around the Herd: Sept. 23 to Sept. 28 in Athletics

In this week’s edition of Around the Herd: field hockey upsets Williams, football takes down Hamilton, and volleyball dominates at Hartford Tri-Match. 

Women’s Soccer

Last week, the women’s soccer team defeated Smith 5-1 on Tuesday and then fell to Williams 3-1 on Saturday in a back-and-forth battle. 

Against Smith, five different Mammoths found the back of the net in a dominant 5-1 victory. From the beginning, Amherst controlled the field and decided the pace of play. The Mammoths’ first goal came in the 26th minute when Katerina Davis ’30 found Caroline Coletti ’28, for her third goal of the season. While Smith tied the game in the 33rd minute, Allison Hayes ’29 struck a powerful, unassisted shot only 76 seconds later to send Amherst right back into the lead. Just before halftime in the 43rd minute, Amelie Zeitz ’29 found the back of the net with an assist by Pao Monter ’28, giving the Mammoths a 3-1 lead heading into halftime. The Mammoths maintained their offensive pressure in the second half, outshooting Smith 11-2 in the period. As part of that effort, Maddy Varela ’29 found space in the 81st minute and scored the team’s fourth goal. In the final 10 seconds, Katie Pedersen ’28 found Monter, who finalized Amherst’s dominant performance with a fifth goal, going out with a bang at 5-1. Goalkeeper Molly Davidson ’29 recorded two saves to help the team in the victory. Overall, Amherst had a decisive 25-3 advantage in total shots, along with a 14-4 advantage in corner kicks. 

Following their victory, the team traveled to Williamstown and ultimately fell 3-1 to the Ephs after a tough battle. Williams opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, and their goal went unanswered until early in the second half. Emma Darling ’29 made a run toward the goal, and though her first effort was denied by the goalkeeper, she regained possession and sent a cross in front of the goal, which was deflected in by a Williams defender to bring the score to 1-1. Williams answered shortly thereafter, knocking the score to 2-1 just over a minute later. In the 78th minute, the Ephs scored the last goal of the game, setting the final score at 3-1 Williams. Darling led Amherst with five shots, three of which were on goal. Goalkeeper Corina Bellermann ’30 recorded four saves in the contest.

The Mammoths now hold a 3-4 record overall and are 0-4 in the NESCAC. For their next matchup, they will host Emerson College on Wednesday, Sept. 30. 

Men’s Soccer

The men’s soccer team traveled to Williamstown, MA, this week to compete in a NESCAC rivalry game against Williams. Despite playing a hard-fought game, the team fell 1-0 to the Ephs. 

Neither the Ephs nor the Mammoths scored for nearly the entirety of this match. Amherst played aggressively from the start, recording 12 shots and six corner kicks in the first half.  Shots from Riley Priddy ’27 and Dimash Anuarbek ’30, forced the Williams goalkeeper into action. Priddy and Mohammed Nuhu ’27 recorded four shots each, while Anuarbek, Obed Opoku ’28, and Edward Wilkey ’30 each had one. In the final minute of regulation, the Ephs broke through the stalemate off a two-on-one breakaway that lifted them to a 1-0 victory. The Mammoths earned nine corner kicks compared to the Ephs’ three, though they had 11 fouls compared to William’s eight. The teams finished with four yellow cards, all issued during the final 33 seconds of the match.

The Mammoths continue their season on Saturday, Oct. 3, against NESCAC rival Tufts. 

Field Hockey

This week, the No. 15-ranked field hockey team traveled to face MIT on Wednesday and No. 4-ranked Williams on Saturday. The Mammoths won both matchups, shutting out the Engineers 4-0 and upsetting the Ephs 3-2.

In Cambridge, MA, Amherst dominated early in the first quarter. With five minutes left in the frame, a long pass from Dylan Bloom ’27 bounced off the feet of MIT’s goaltender and onto the stick of Genevieve Caruso ’27. The forward then made a remarkable diving play to slide the ball into the net. In the second quarter, both teams traded possession until the 27th minute when Caruso scored from her knees — off an assist from Bella Kim ’29 — to double the Mammoths’ lead. Less than two minutes later, Ella Kang ’30 made a drive to the circle, deked past her defender, and fired the ball past the Engineers’ goalkeeper, scoring her first collegiate goal and bringing the score to 3-0. After halftime, Amherst continued to deliver offensive pressure. Despite shots from Cate LaFreniere ’30, Emily Huehn ’28, and Kim, though, nothing found the back of the net in the third quarter. Just over a minute into the final stanza, Caroline Busler ’28 sent a pass to Caruso through traffic in front of the MIT net; the forward collected the ball and expertly slipped it between the Engineers’ goalie and the near post, netting the Mammoths’ fourth goal of the night and completing her hat trick. Olivia Tennant ’27 launched two promising shots of her own, which narrowly missed the net, as Amherst continued to attack in the final minutes of the game. On the defensive end, goalkeepers Grace Puchalski ’27 and Kate Grady ’28 each tallied a save in the Mammoths’ 4-0 shutout victory.

The Mammoths’ offensive momentum continued in Williamstown, MA. There, the Mammoths scored three times in the opening 17 minutes, all off penalty corners taken by Devon Watson ’29. Eight minutes into the first quarter, Watson’s injection gave possession to Kang, who launched the ball past Williams’ goalkeeper to put Amherst on the board. Less than five minutes later, the same setup put the ball on Kim’s stick, allowing her to rocket a shot into the net before the end of the first stanza. Only two minutes into the second quarter, Caruso connected a pass from Emma Zhang ’29 and buried the ball in the goal, lifting the Mammoths to a 3-0 lead. After halftime, the momentum shifted completely in Williams’ favor as the Ephs registered 10 shots and held Amherst to zero. Williams scored on a penalty corner of their own in the third quarter and off a deflection halfway through the fourth. Six key saves from Puchalski — including three in the latter half of the game — staved off the Ephs’ comeback attempt, ending the game 3-2 for the Mammoths. The win breaks Amherst’s four-game losing streak against Williams. 

Up next, the team will return home to face another NESCAC rival in Tufts on Saturday.  

Volleyball

The volleyball team lost at home to Wesleyan 3-0 this Friday before traveling to Hartford, CT, for the Hartford Tri-Match, where they swept their competition, dispatching both Mount Saint Mary College and Hartford College in straight sets on Saturday. 

In the morning against the Mount Saint Mary Knights, Amherst nearly fell behind early. However, down 24-23 in the first frame and facing set point, the Mammoths won three straight points, clawing back and then taking the set outright with an emphatic ace from Gabrielle Hines ’29. The second and third frames were more straightforward, with Amherst building up margins and then easing to comfortable set wins. Raegan Lentz ’30 and Stella Jacey ’29 were a dynamic duo in the affair, with Lentz recording 12 kills on offense and Jacey mirroring that effort defensively with 12 digs of her own. Chloe Mensah ’30 also set a season high for solo blocks, individually stuffing three Knight attempts above the net. More of the same was to come in the afternoon, as Amherst took all three sets against Hartford with breathing room. 

The 2-1 week brings Amherst’s record to 6-5, though they remain winless against conference opponents. This week, they will have two opportunities to remedy that as they travel to Connecticut College on Friday and then to Trinity on Saturday. 

Football

The football team traveled up to Clinton, NY, to face Hamilton in its second game of the season. Led once again by a second-half offensive surge, the Mammoths notched their second win of the season, defeating the Continentals 38-21. 

The Mammoths’ defense was the star of the show in the first half, with an interception by Jackson Duncan ’27 ending the first Hamilton drive of the game. The first score of the game then came on Amherst’s opening drive, when quarterback Marek Hill ’28 found Kai Erwin ’30 open in the back of the end zone. The Continentals answered on the next drive, evening the tally at seven to close out the first quarter of play. The second quarter was another even battle, though. After Amherst’s defense forced Hamilton to punt, they found their offensive groove. Hill found his usual receiver targets, Jadon Davis ’29 and Max Alexander ’29, and worked his way into the Continental’s red zone. To complete the drive, it was Alexander who eventually notched the score off of a 9-yard dart down the middle. Yet, Hamilton once again answered, setting the second-half stage even at 14 apiece. The Mammoths’ momentum, however, would prove to be too much for the Continentals to ultimately overcome. Amherst received Hamilton’s kickoff to start the half, and they immediately found the end zone when Cam Fowler ’30 collected a 49-yard dart from Hill to give the Mammoths a 21-14 edge. Amherst took a 28-14 lead after a successful defensive series and set up another touchdown. This time, Hill connected with Jack Berger ’29, who caught a 10-yard pass and ran with it for an additional 10 to notch the score. Hamilton answered, but it would be their final score of the game. A pair of Amherst scores, including an 18-yard rush by Michael Dunmore ’29 and a 26-yard field goal by kicker Hudson Fulcher-Melendy ’28, put the Mammoths up a comfortable 17 points heading into the final minutes. Yet another solid defensive possession solidified the win for the Mammoths, forcing a Hamilton turnover with 1:23 remaining on the clock. 

After this win, the Mammoths improve to 2-0. They look forward to facing Bowdoin on Saturday, Oct. 3, at home in Lehrman Stadium.  

Head of the Herd - Genevieve Caruso ’27 

The field hockey team secured two massive wins this week, and neither would have been possible without the stellar efforts of Genevieve Caruso ’27. In Wednesday’s 4-0 win over MIT, Caruso recorded her first career hat trick. Her momentum continued into the weekend, where — facing a strong Williams team — the Mammoths overwhelmed them offensively. Caruso’s goal was the third of the day for Amherst and the game-winner in the 3-2 win. “We are really excited for the upcoming season after our upset against Williams and our shutout against MIT,” Caruso said. “We have really capable NESCAC opponents, but I think with the way we have been playing, we are in a great position to have a strong season.” For her incredible effort in leading the team out of their slump this week, Caruso has earned the head-of-the-herd designation.