Courtesty of Bates Sports Information
LEWISTON, Maine – Caroline Holliday '14 recorded six points on three goals and three assists to lead the 13th-ranked Amherst women's lacrosse team to a 12-8 win over Bates College in its 2014 season opener at Garcelon Field.
The Bobcats (1-1, 0-1 NESCAC) tied the game at 6-6 just over five minutes into the second half before the Jeffs (1-0, 1-0 NESCAC) scored six of the game's last eight goals.
Rachel Passarelli '16 recorded four points on two goals and two assists for Amherst while Elizabeth Ludlow '14 and Meghan Mills '15 each added two goals.
Blair Shrewsbury '14 scored a game-high four goals for Bates while Moriah Greenstein '16 registered five points with three assists and two goals. Senior Wally Pierce compiled two goals, four ground balls, and three draw controls.
The Bobcats opened the contest with a 2-1 lead behind goals from Shrewsbury and Greenstein just less than eight minutes into the game. The Jeffs responded with a 4-1 run, taking a 5-3 advantage with 7:09 left in the period. Greenstein tacked on a goal off a free-position shot with 91 seconds left in the frame to bring Bates within 5-4 at the half.
Shrewsbury knotted the score at 5-5 less than three minutes into the second stanza and tied it again at 6-6 three minutes later. Amherst then used another 4-1 spurt to pull ahead 10-7 with 7:16 left as Holliday scored twice during the run.
Bates cut its deficit to 10-8 with 5:27 remaining off a Shrewsbury goal, but the Jeffs netted two goals in the final three minutes as the Bobcats made an extra effort to regain possession.
Amherst sophomore goalie Christy Forrest made 11 saves including seven in the second half and four in the last 12 minutes in the win. Hannah Jeffrey '16 stopped six shots for Bates.
Neither side could gain much of a statistical advantage as shots (20-20), ground balls (13-11 Bates), and draw controls (12-10 Amherst) held steady.
Amherst returns to action on Wednesday, Mar. 5 to host Babson in its 2014 home opener at 5 p.m.