No. 14 Women's Lacrosse Edged by No. 6 Amherst, 8-6

Photo by Jonas Powell '18

AMHERST, Mass. – Sixth-ranked Amherst College rallied late and used a 4-1 run to edge the 14th-ranked Wesleyan University women's lacrosse team, 8-6, Wednesday evening at Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium.

With the win, Amherst improves to 8-1 on the season and 4-1 in league play, while the Cardinals fall to 7-3 overall (3-2 NESCAC). 

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

• Netting the first two scores of the matchup, the Cardinals jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first five minutes. Striking at the 26:57 mark, Abigail Horst '19 scored an unassisted tally to get the visitors on the board before Emi Ogden-Fung '19 powered a dish from Sydney Prokupek '21 into the nylon with 25:53 on the clock.
• Responding 27 seconds later, Maia Noyes capitalized on a Wesleyan yellow card to notch a player-up score and cut the Mammoths' deficit to one.
• Extending the Cardinals' lead to 3-1, Horst logged her second goal of the contest and what stood as the visitors final marker of the first half with 18:02 remaining.
• Down by a goal heading into intermission, Katherine Malone scored at the 13:10 mark to get Amherst within one, 3-2. Powering the shot over the goal line 29 seconds after an Amherst timeout, Claire Dunbar dished a pass to a streaking Malone in the slot who quickly sent the ball into the top right corner.
• Doubling up Wesleyan, 6-3 in the second half behind the strength of three free position markers, the Mammoths rallied past the Cardinals to secure the 8-6 conference victory.
• Trading scores to open the final 30 minutes of action, Isabelle Sennett split two defenders at the 27:33 mark and snuck a shot inside the right post to even the bout at 3-3 before Therese Mittleman '20 countered with a score on a pass from Rylee White '21 one minute and 32 seconds later.
• Notching the Mammoths first of three free position goals in the half with 21:38 on the clock, Dunbar deadlocked the sides at 4-4.
• Giving the visitors their final lead of the game at the 18:11 mark, Horst collected a hat trick on the day with a free position goal into the bottom right corner.
• The final 16:59 of the Little III matchup featured a 4-1 comeback run by Amherst, with Sennett starting the Mammoths' rally with a highlight reel score with two defenders closing in. Noyes was credited with the assist on the marker.
• Taking their first lead with 8:15 remaining in regulation, Leah Ritterband cut towards the goal and drove a pass from Dunbar into the top left corner following an Amherst timeout before Mary Grace Cronin scored a free position shot to extend the home team's lead to 7-5.
• Abby Manning '20 returned the favor at the 6:42 mark, logging a free position goal of her own to cut the Cardinals' deficit to 7-6, however, Cronin registered the final dagger for Amherst with 5:25 to play, bouncing a shot past the Wesleyan goalkeeper to lift the Mammoths to the 8-6 victory.

BY THE NUMBERS:

• In between the pipes, Talia Land (8-1) recorded three saves in the winning effort for Amherst, while Allegra Grant '20 (7-3) made seven stops for Wesleyan.
• The Mammoths owned a 15-9 edge in shots on target and a 24-19 advantage in ground balls, while the Cardinals led draw controls, 8-7.
• Amherst finished 17-for-20 on clears and 3-for-6 on free position shots, while Wesleyan went 18-for-24 on clear attempts and 2-for-6 on free position opportunities. 

UP NEXT:

• The Cardinals are back in action Saturday, April 7 for another difficult NESCAC matchup as they host No. 7 Tufts at 12 p.m.

* Recap courtesy of Amherst Athletic Communications *