Field Hockey Captures Two Wins over Colby and Bates on Senior Weekend

In an exciting, action-packed weekend, the Mammoths captured two wins at home against Colby and Bates, with the match against the Bobcats doubling as the team’s Senior Day.

On Saturday, the Mammoths took on the Mules, and for the opening 57 minutes, the score remained knotted at 0-0. Colby’s Georgia Cassidy finally provided some offensive impact at the 57:46 mark of the game. Taking advantage of a penalty corner, Cassidy fired a shot from the top of the arc, which deflected off a defender’s stick and into the back of the net, out of the reach of goaltender Katie Savage ’19.

With the clock winding down, Amherst’s Laura Schwartzman ’20 found the back of the net on a rebound shot with just 1:28 remaining to force overtime. The Mammoths capitalized four minutes into the extra period to complete their comeback, with Franny Daniels ’21 scoring the golden goal off an assist from Schwartzman.

With little time to rest, Amherst returned to the field on Sunday to take on Bates. Before the game, the Class of 2019 was honored, with seniors Megan Shea, Shannon Tierney, Emery Sorvino, Debbie Newmark, Kendall Codey and Savage all receiving a warm round of applause. As a class, this sextet boasts a record of 41-20, three appearances in the NESCAC tournament and fifth-highest team GPA in all of Division III in 2017.

This celebration motivated the Mammoths to come out firing, as Schwartzman gave the Mammoths an early lead just 15 minutes after the first whistle, finding the back of the net off a rebound on a penalty corner. For her efforts against the Maine schools, which saw her tally two goals and assist for five points on the weekend, Schwartzman earned NESCAC player of the week honors.

Eager to get in on the action, Daniels scored her own second goal of the weekend, tipping a shot past the Bates goaltender on another penalty corner. This was Daniels’ 12th goal this season, which leaves the first-year phenom as the third-leading scorer in the entire NESCAC.

The Bobcats did manage to cut their deficit a minute later, as Taylor Lough redirected a shot through Savage’s legs, but Natalie Hobbs ’22 restored the two-goal lead in the second half, adding her name to the scoresheet after tipping first-year Beth Williamson’s shot into the back of the net.

Although Bates fought hard to pull a goal back in the dying minutes of the game, Savage was more than equal to the task, denying any hopes of a Bobcats comeback. Coming away from the weekend with two wins, the Mammoths now stand at 4-4 in conference play and 8-4 overall, with just three games remaining in the regular season. Amherst will take on local rival Smith on Thursday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. before taking to the road for Saturday’s important matchup against Trinity, which currently sits one spot above the Mammoths in the conference standings.