Field Hockey Suffers Overtime Loss to Tufts, But Beats Conn. College

After 71 minutes of back and forth play, the Amherst field hockey team suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss to Tufts on Saturday afternoon. Neither side showed signs of giving up at any point in the bout, constantly attacking each other for the duration of the contest. Though the Mammoths never trailed in regulation, the Jumbos ended up scoring the all-important overtime goal to claim a 3-2 win. With the result, Tufts advanced to 7-0 on the season, while the Mammoths fell to 4-3.

The Mammoths got off to a quick start during their fourth away game of the season. Just 12 minutes into the first frame, defender Kendall Codey ’19 found the back of the net, putting the Mammoths up 1-0. Off of a penalty corner, Codey ripped a shot past the Jumbos’ netminder for her fifth goal of the season. With just 38 seconds left to play in the half, however, Tufts forward Rachel Hamilton netted an equalizer. Midfielder Sophie Shoeni dished a clean pass to Hamilton who tapped the ball past Amherst netminder Katie Savage ’19. The Mammoths and the Jumbos entered halftime tied 1-1.

10 minutes into the second half, Amherst once again took the lead. The scoring play started when Laura Schwartzman ’20 picked the pocket of a Tufts defender and dished a pass to Natalie Hobbs ’22. Hobbs then sent a quick pass to Franny Daniels ’21 on the right side of the field. Daniels finished the tic-tac-toe play off by rifling a shot past the Tufts netminder for her fifth goal of the season. However, the Jumbos were again quick to respond. Less than five minutes later, Tufts’ forward Gigi Tutoni tipped a rogue high-flying ball past Savage to tie the game.

Deadlocked at two goals apiece after 70 minutes of play, the Mammoths and the Jumbos headed into overtime. Just a minute into the overtime frame, the Jumbos manufactured a two-on-one offensive rush. Though Savage was able to turn away an initial shot from Hamilton, Tutoni picked up the rebound and easily fired home the winning goal.

While the Mammoths once again found themselves on the losing end of a hard-fought battle, the loss wasn’t for a lack of effort. Taking advantage of its chances, Amherst’s offense netted two goals on two shots. Likewise, Amherst’s defense stood strong, with midfielder Anna Agathis ’21 playing notably well on the defensive end. Gritting through an injury, Agathis helped Amherst hold the Jumbos to just 10 shots on net on 28 total shots. Savage also stood strong in net, making seven saves on 10 shots.

Despite the tough loss, Agathis remained optimistic.“We came out with great morale and really capitalized on our chances,” the midfielder said. “We are really on an upward slope and we are improving something about our game every day.”

Amherst is looking to rebound on the road against Conn. College and Keene State College this week. The Mammoths then took on the Camels on Tuesday, Oct 2 under the lights.

Amherst dominated the game from the opening whistle, with an explosive first half seeing the Mammoths take nine shots to the Camels’ two. However, Amhest was only able to tally one goal during the period, with Daniels driving home a rebound off the Connecticut goalie in the 22nd minute of play.

The second half saw more parity between the squads; however, Amherst was able to add to their lead on another goal from Daniels, this time on a backhanded shot in close to the net.

Daniels then finished off her hat-trick ten minutes later, scoring off a pass from Sophia Kaplan ’22 to put the Mammoths up 3-0.

The Camels were able to claw one goal back late in the second half, but it was not enough, as Amherst rolled to a 3-1 victory behind Daniels’ hat trick.

The Mammoths next face the Keene State Owls on Thursday, Oct 4 at 6:30 p.m.