Women’s Lacrosse, Ranked 21st, Wins 4 Over Break

Women’s lacrosse went undefeated over spring break, winning all three of their games, two of which took place in Colorado. With a four-game winning streak, the team was ranked No. 21 nationally in the latest IL/IWLCA Division III Poll.

After splitting their first two matches of the season, including a disappointing conference loss to Hamilton, Amherst headed west to Colorado for a spring break training camp and two games.

Their first game, against Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was a decisive 12-8 victory. The game began with Amherst taking a quick 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Elizabeth Rose ’25 and Ashley Tucker ’22. But before the end of the quarter, Colorado cut the lead in half, and soon into the second quarter, they equalized. With six minutes until halftime, Lauren Friedman ’25 scored on a free position shot to spark an Amherst goal spree. With 2:20 until the break, Tucker scored her second of the game, and Rose scored her second just 31 seconds later. With 0:35 remaining in the half, though, Colorado scored to make the score 5-3 at halftime.

The second half’s scoring opened with a goal from Becky Kendall ’22, but Colorado followed soon after with two goals just 30 seconds apart, making the score 6-5 in the Mammoths’ favor. The back-and-forth continued, with Sydney Larsen ’23 scoring an unassisted goal, Colorado answering just over a minute later, and Friedman responding again 1:30 later. Kendall scored the final goal of the period, making the score 9-6 going into the final quarter. Colorado scored first, just 1:18 into the period. The period remained scoreless for the next nine minutes, until Rose scored with 4:47 left in the game. Eliza Marcus ’24 followed her, making the score 11-7. With 2:35 to play, Colorado scored their last goal of the game before Tucker scored the game’s final goal with just eight seconds remaining.

The Mammoths’ second game over spring break was a thriller. Amherst came out on top, winning 11-10 in overtime against McDaniel College in Colorado Springs. With 9:38 left in the first quarter, Amherst was down 4-1, but a free position goal from Friedman opened the floodgates. Another goal from Friedman and goals from Rose and Kendall made the score 5-4 in Amherst’s favor. Even after McDaniel equalized in the second period, Amherst continued their run, scoring three unanswered goals before halftime and one after, giving them a 9-5 lead with 25 minutes left in the game. McDaniel was not deterred, though. With 1:26 left in the third period, McDaniel midfielder Emma Legacy started a spree of McDaniel’s own. In the fourth quarter, the Green Terror scored four goals, giving them a one-goal advantage with just 1:44 to play. Heroically, with just 34 seconds left, Kendall scored her third goal of the game to force overtime.

After the first three minutes of the six-minute overtime period passed with opportunities few and far between, the Mammoths capitalized on their first chance of the extra period. After Colleen Mooney ’23 recorded a key ground ball and cleared Amherst’s defensive zone, a Mammoth timeout allowed for the offense to get set. Less than 20 seconds would pass before a McDaniel foul gave Friedman a free position shot. With 3:34 left in overtime, Friedman stepped up to the occasion, scoring the golden goal — her fourth of the game — and giving the Mammoths the win.

Amherst’s final game of the stretch was an 8-7 conference victory against Bates. A low-scoring and tightly contested affair, the Mammoths and Bobcats were neck-and-neck in just about every capacity — the two teams were separated 22-20 in shots, 7-8 in saves, 21-21 in turnovers, 12-13 in ground balls, and 9-9 in draw controls. Bates started the game with an early lead, opening the scoring just 26 seconds in. Amherst equalized with a goal from Campbell Moriarty ’24 after roughly six minutes, taking the lead just 16 seconds later with a goal from Larsen.

The rest of the first period swung in Bates’ direction, though: over the last six minutes, Bates scored three goals to end the first quarter with a 4-2 lead. In the second quarter, Amherst bounced back with two goals — one from Fiona Jones ’23 and one from Friedman — to tie the game at 4-4. The rest of the second quarter — a full 11 minutes — remained scoreless. The deadlock was broken four minutes into the third period when Bates regained the lead, but Friedman equalized for Amherst three minutes later. Bates reclaimed the lead with 3:55 left in the third quarter, but five minutes into the final quarter, Amherst equalized yet again, this time with a goal from Moriarty. With 8:19 left in the game, Bates took its final lead of the game. It was Kendall who equalized for Amherst with 5:11 remaining, and with 1:29 remaining, Moriarty scored her third of the game to give Amherst the lead — and ultimately the win.

According to Friedman, the team leading-scorer, the team is looking forward to sharpening their game skills as the season progressess. "All of my teammates really bring the intensity in practice," Friedman said. "We're really beginning to gel and I’m grateful the team has welcomed us first-year players into the fold. With more game experience we will be able to fine-tune our skills and continue to grow our confidence."

Even despite not having played for two years, Friedman thinks the season has gone well so far. "Thanks to the great coaching we’ve received and the leadership of the upperclassmen, we’ve been able to come out on top in some tight games," Friedman said. "This shows we can handle pressure even early in the season."

In their next game, the Mammoths will look to continue their winning streak and keep moving up in the rankings against Westfield State University at Pratt Field on Saturday, March 26, at noon.