Around the Herd: Spring Break Edition

While most students returned home for spring break, many athletes stayed on campus or traveled across the country to compete in events. In this special edition of Around the Herd, we recap a handful of these events and provide info on the most significant stars and stats.

Women’s Hockey

The women’s hockey team took care of business over break. With a win over Colby on Saturday, March 22, the team will advance to the semifinal round of the NCAA tournament. Just two minutes into the first period, Bea Flynn ’28 converted on her shot, skating past the Colby defenders and putting one in the back of the net. Still in the first period, the Mammoths found themselves in a power play after a Colby penalty. It was Ayla Abban ’28 this time, corralling the puck from teammates Maeve Reynolds ’26 and Annabel Raffin ’28 and sending it past the Mules’ keeper for a 2-0 lead. Heading into the second period, Amherst continued their offensive onslaught. It was Flynn again, tapping the rebound in at the goalpost off the initial pass from captain Emily Hohmann ’26.

Sitting at a comfortable 3-0 lead, the Mammoths continued their solid play all across the ice. In the final period, they delivered the dagger. Defender Gretchen Dann ’26 fired the puck toward the net, where it deflected off a Colby player. However, Natalie Fu ’27 was lying in wait and tapped the puck into the net before the Mules had time to regroup. The 4-0 lead was too much for the Mules to overcome. They scored one goal in the third period, but Natalie Stott ’26’s 29 saves, combined with stellar offensive and defensive play, were too much for Colby to compete with.

The 4-1 final sends the Mammoths to the NCAA semifinals in Wisconsin on March 28, where they will take on NESCAC foe Middlebury for the fourth time this season for a chance to play in the national championship.

Men’s Lacrosse

The No. 7 men’s lacrosse team continued their undefeated season over break, going 3-0 on the week, including two key NESCAC victories that saw the Mammoths snap Bowdoin’s perfect record.

On Saturday, March 15, the team traveled to Waterville, Maine, to play Colby. The first half was a battle, with the Mules going into halftime with a narrow 6-5 lead. However, the Mammoths came out hot and never looked back. Goals and assists from Alex Giacobbe ’25, Bob Gross ’26, Bennett Chow ’26, Brendan Reilly ’27, and Willie Doyle ’28 gave the team a 13-7 lead, with stellar defense holding the Mules to only two goals in the entire second half. Max Youssefnia ’27 got his first goal of the season to end the game 14-8 in favor of the Mammoths.

Taking this momentum to Sparks, Maryland, the team squared off against No. 18 Denison at the US Lacrosse headquarters on Thursday, March 20. Giacobbe got the Mammoths on the board right away, with back-to-back scores assisted by Chow and Alex Vlacich ’26. Denison responded with a goal of their own, but Chow struck back with two more to stifle any runs from the Big Red and keep the score at 4-2. Denison would narrow the lead to one point before the Mammoths went on a 4-0 run, getting big goals from Giacobbe, Reilly, Doyle, and Nico Berger ’27. Gross would add three more scores of his own in the latter half of the game, helping the Mammoths to a convincing 13-7 victory. Amherst got four goals from Giacobbe and five points from Gross, with three goals and two helpers. The team also dominated at the faceoff, with Nicholas Kopp ’25 winning 15 of 21.

The Mammoths capped off their spring break trip with their biggest test to date — taking on No. 7 Bowdoin Polar Bears on Sunday, March 23. Both teams entered the contest undefeated. The Polar Bears showed why they were ranked in the top 10; Chow tallied the first score of the day before Bowdoin jumped out to a 4-1 lead. In the second quarter, both teams traded goals, with the Polar Bears maintaining a 6-4 lead heading to the half. The third quarter was the difference maker for the Mammoths. Reilly scored unassisted at the 11-minute mark before Doyle and Gross each scored twice to put the Mammoths up 9-6 for the first time since their early 1-0 lead. Bowdoin got the first two tallies of the fourth quarter to make it 9-7, but the Mammoths stepped up big time in the final minutes. Giacobbe, Doyle, and Reilly each found the back of the net to give the Mammoths three straight, solidifying the win. Kopp won the final faceoff, and goalkeeper Brooks Catlin ’26 made a save with under two minutes left to give the Mammoths possession. Catlin ended with a stellar 15 saves on the day, and Doyle’s five points were a career and game-high.

The 6-0 team rests up before their battle at home on Saturday, March 29, versus Roanoke. They are currently in a three-way tie for first in the NESCAC and climbed to No. 7 in the national rankings after the banner week, pushing the Polar Bears to No. 9.

Softball

The women’s softball team started its season in Clermont, Florida, playing 12 games across seven days. Amherst faced teams like the University of Chicago and the No. 6 University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Amherst went 8-4 in their spring break games, with an exceptional match against Plattsburgh State on Thursday, March 20. The Mammoths got off to a fiery start in the first inning, with Lauren Ro ’28 reaching first base by singling down the left-field line. Olivia Aitkin ’26’s bunt allowed Ro to reach second base, which set Ro up for Amherst’s first run off a hit from Lulu Leppard ’28. Leppard, due to a throwing error by the center fielder, advanced to third base. A magnificent single from Danielle Torres-Werra ’25 gave Leppard Amherst’s second run. Anna Primozic ’27 scored Torres-Werra after a single to center field. Plattsburgh made a switch at pitcher after Dylan Briggs ’26 scored Primozic and Emma Nordstrom ’27, bringing Amherst’s lead to 5-0. The pitching change did little to stop the team, as Briggs and May Mishima ’28 scored off a throwing error by Plattsburgh’s second baseman. The offensive onslaught by the Mammoths in the first inning ended here, but Amherst would continue to get runs in throughout the game. Primozic scored Abby Rebhan ’28 in the second inning, and Ro would score again in the third inning on a wild pitch. The team put Plattsburgh into the ground in the seventh inning, as Heidi Li ’27 singled up the middle, scoring Mishima and Primozic. Leppard then stepped up to the plate, hit one to center field, and gave Li and Briggs the final runs for Amherst. The team’s performance in this game highlighted their offensive prowess going into the 2025 season, capable of consistently generating runs against strong opponents. The game ended 13-6 in Amherst’s favor, with Torres-Werra taking the win as the pitcher.

The team will play its first NESCAC series at Middlebury College on March 29 before taking on Tufts University in Medford on March 30.

Baseball

Like softball, Amherst baseball also spent the break in Florida, competing in seven games across six days.

The team collected a record of 4-3 under the Florida sun, playing the likes of Babson College, Coe College, and Rowan University. The highlight of the week came last Friday as the Mammoths faced off against Framington State University. The game got off to a fast start. In the top of the second inning, the Mammoths rallied for three runs, thanks to singles from Ben Smith ’26 and Jack Boyle ’25. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Mammoths gave up four in the bottom of the frame. Thereafter, the Mammoths evened the score courtesy of Matthew Chen ’28, whose sacrifice fly scored Ryan McIntyre ’25 from third, tying the game at 4-4. Amherst retook the lead in the top of the fifth, only to give it up by surrendering six runs in the bottom of the half of the inning, falling down 9-4. Still, even in a five-run hole with only 12 outs remaining, the Mammoths continued to fight. In the top of the seventh, knocks from Justin Orridge ’28 and Boyle, in tandem with a comedy of fielding errors by Framington State, allowed the Mammoths to score six and take a 10-9 lead. After that, despite losing the lead by surrendering two runs in the bottom of the seventh, the Mammoths exploded for three runs in the eighth as Orridge’s two-run single recaptured the lead. In the ninth, the Mammoths continued cruising, scoring two more insurance runs and winning the contest 16-12. Adrian Caron ’27 was the winning pitcher for Amherst, while Jack Sampedro ’25 got the save.

In the coming days, the team plays one final exhibition game in Springfield against Western New England University on March 26 before taking on Middlebury in a three-game series to kick off the NESCAC on March 29.

Women’s Lacrosse

The No. 13 women’s lacrosse team faced two NESCAC teams in Colby and Bowdoin while also playing Haverford College and Westfield State University over spring break.

On Saturday, March 15, the Mammoths took on the  No. 6 Mules at home. The game was evenly matched through the first half, with the score tied at seven apiece halfway into the third quarter. Emily Petersen ’26 netted the next three goals for Amherst, the last of which passed the goal line with seven minutes to play, regaining the Mammoths’ lead to 10-8. However, Colby found an offensive stride in the last minutes to win the game in a 12-11 in a heartbreaker. On Wednesday, Amherst found more success against the Haverford Fords. After an early 6-2 deficit in the second, the Mammoths turned the tables, taking a 10-8 at the end of the third. This offensive rush was partly led by Sofia Guttmann ’26, who tallied three goals and an assist. In the last quarter, Amherst continued to find the back of the net, earning a 16-11 win. The team notably scored on five out of six free-position opportunities throughout the game. On the next Saturday, March 22, the Mammoths found early success against the Polar Bears; by halftime, the score was 8-4 for Amherst, with goals scored by seven different players. Despite late efforts from Bowdoin, back-to-back goals from Bridget Finley ’26 and another from Guttmann — which earned her another hat trick — secured the team’s victory with a final score of 13-9. In their last game of the break, the next day, the Mammoths’ offense dominated quickly against the Owls, scoring six times in the first seven minutes. Westfield was able to narrow the lead to 7-5 halfway through the second quarter, but Amherst responded by netting the next six goals. Kate Becker ’26 notched four goals and two assists over the course of the game, while Mia Raven ’27 and Guttmann both achieved hat tricks. These efforts led the Mammoths to a final victory of 18-6 over the Owls. Guttman’s 10 points across three games earned her NESCAC Player of the Week Honors. Amherst recorded a 3-1 record over the break and will look to continue their three-game win streak.

Next Saturday, March 29, the team will embark on another road game against No. 20 Stevens Institute of Technology.