Contact: Ben Badua
AMHERST, Mass. – Extending its winning streak to eight games, the third-ranked Amherst women's lacrosse team remained unbeaten with an 8-4 victory over Little Three rival Wesleyan University on Gooding Field.
Notching their fifth-consecutive win over the Cardinals, the Jeffs improved to 8-0 (5-0 NESCAC) on the season while Wesleyan dropped to 5-5 (0-5 NESCAC).
Breaking through in the game's opening moments, Meghan Mills '15 threw a shot toward net that deflected off a defender's stick and past sophomore goalkeeper Nina Labovich. Taking advantage of a Wesleyan turnover just over three minutes later, Alex Philie '14 doubled the Jeff margin with her fourth tally in three games.
Just 1:06 after Philie's score, Rachel Passarelli '16 buried her 15th marker of the season off a Mia Haughton '16 feed. Assisting on another Amherst goal, Haughton later found Mills open in front as the Purple & White extended its margin to 4-0.
Converting a free-position with just over 15 minutes remaining in the first half, Daphne Kroessler '15 put the Cardinals on the board. Getting a goal back before the intermission, Haughton linked up with Priscilla Tyler '15, who snapped a low shot past Labovich with 5:07 on the clock. With a minute to go, Meredith Smith '17 helped the Cardinals keep pace with a successful free-position attempt that cut the deficit to 5-2.
Earning another free-position just 1:25 into the second, Maddy Coulter '14 recorded Wesleyan's third goal to pull the visitors within two. Approaching the 15-minute mark, Smith had a golden opportunity to cut the margin to one, but Amherst goalie Christy Forrest '16 made a big save on the shot from point-blank range. Catching Wesleyan out of position, Tyler broke out of the defensive zone before finding Haughton alone in transition on the back-post for the Jeffs' sixth tally.
With less than 10 minutes to go, Philie padded Amherst's cushion with a free-position goal. Answering just 1:49 later, Coulter netted a wrap-around score while on the man-advantage to trim the lead back down to three. With Amherst controlling possession down the stretch, Wesleyan regained control with just over a minute remaining but could not put a shot past Forrest as the Jeffs pushed on to an 8-4 win thanks to a late Elizabeth Ludlow '14 score.
Wesleyan finished with a slim 17-16 shot advantage and a 19-17 edge in ground balls while Amherst won 10-of-15 draw controls. Mills and Philie each had two goals for the Jeffs while combining for six draws and four caused turnovers. Forrest made 10 saves in the win while Labovich finished with five stops. Coulter, Kroessler and Smith accounted for the four Cardinal goals while Morgan Moubayed '17 and Meghan Kelly '17 had three ground balls and four caused turnovers, respectively.
Amherst returns to action on Saturday, Apr. 5 at Colby College.