Women’s Lacrosse Has Big Day, Defeats Bowdoin 11-8

After a dominant 16-2 performance over Keene State, women’s lacrosse had an important NESCAC matchup against Bowdoin on April 2. After a devastating loss to the Polar Bears only a year ago,  the Mammoths sought revenge while trying to continue their winning streak. Amherst was easily favored with a record of 6-1 compared to Bowdoin’s 3-5. The Mammoths got off to a quick start with a goal from Clara Sosa ’26  to give them a 1-0 lead. Bowdoin evened the score before Bridget Finley ’26 scored a goal of her own to give the team a 2-1 edge over Bowdoin. Again, Bowdoin evened the score but Finley refused to let up the lead, scoring another goal to give Amherst a 3-2 edge by the end of the first quarter.

During the second and third quarters, however, Sosa absolutely took over as she scored four goals in quick succession. Bowdoin responded and Finley traded the point. Emily Petersen ’26 added two goals to bring Amherst to a 10-4 lead by the beginning of the fourth.

Suddenly, their lead was sliced to two goals as Bowdoin scored four goals in the fourth, making it a 10-8 contest. However, Amherst’s discipline came through with a beautiful goal from Morgan Lebek ’26 and some clutch defensive stops. Amherst won 11-8. In addition to the Mammoths offensive prowess, Rachel Rodgers ’25 had four ground balls, Fiona Jones ’23 had one caused turnover, and Caroline Stole ’24 had 8 saves to help lead the Amherst defense. Peterson and Colleen Mooney ’23 had 5 and 4 defensive clears, respectively, as well.

When asked about their performance against Bowdoin, Stole highlighted that the Mammoths had a “strong defense effort, and [their] ability to win 50/50 balls in the eight meter” helped secure the win. Caitlin Hoffman ’24 said “it was an important NESCAC win, and we are looking forward to the rest of the NESCAC Gauntlet.” Mooney and Sydney Larsen ’23 emphasized that “This was a highly anticipated NESCAC game” and “was an awesome team win.” They also explained that the victory “was a great way to jumpstart the second half of our season.”
The women’s team will be traveling to Middletown, Connecticut for a matchup with the Wesleyan Cardinals on April 6 at 6 p.m.