The Amherst women’s lacrosse team went 2-1 over spring break, dropping a close game against NESCAC rival Bates before winning two games against McDaniel College and Dickinson in Clermont, Florida. With these results, Amherst’s record now stands at 3-1 (2-1 NESCAC).

The team endured a tough 8-7 loss to Bates in a close Saturday afternoon match on March 12.

This proved to be no easy feat for the Bobcats. Bates’ Kaileigh Maguire created some dangerous opportunities for her team in the first half. Maguire was able to capitalize, scoring two goals and assisting Emma Brinkman to put the Bobcats ahead by three goals with 25:30 still left on the clock.

Amherst fought back cutting the goal difference to two before the end of the half. Claire Cagnassola ’17, Rachel Passarelli ’16 and Kate Wyeth ’17 each found the back of the net past Bates goalie, Hannah Jeffery, while the purple and white faced a 5-3 deficit going into the second half.

Behind an outstanding effort from Wyeth, the purple and white found themselves at a one goal differential late in the second half with 19:23 remaining. Senior Mia Haughton assisted Wyeth on both occasions and added to the building momentum as they approached the final whistle.

Defender Katie Paolano ’16 led her team in ground balls. Also back in Amherst’s defending third of the field, goalie Christy Forrest ’16 made two crucial saves, forcing the Bobcats work to keep their lead.

Despite a final back and forth between Bates’ Brinkman and Amherst’s Mary Grace Cronin ’18, scoring a goal a piece for their respective teams, the game ended in Bates’ favor.

Arriving in Clermont with the taste of defeat still in their mouths, the purple and white were game ready for McDaniel and Dickinson after a few practices under the Florida sunshine.

McDaniel was no easy opponent, and hung tough with the purple and white early on. The first half was a fairly even battle. Hannah Krueger ’17 gave Amherst the lead on a free position 58 seconds into the first half and held on to that lead for the remainder of the game. With contributions from Wyeth and Haughton the purple and white went ahead by three goals.

McDaniel responded and was able to close the gap making it a tie game thanks to an early goal from Samantha Barbeito and two consecutive goals by Maggie Quinn and Allison Farrell.

The Amherst attack turned on the fire and forced McDaniel to defend for the rest of the half. Cagnassola, Krueger, Haughton and Passarelli each scored while McDaniel’s Farrell put a second past Forrest and Amherst entered the break with a 7-4 lead.
Cronin, Coco Kusiak ’17, Dakota Foster ’18 and Krueger helped the purple and white pull away in the second half and claim a 14-4 lead. McDaniel produced two more goals to set the score at 14-6, but it was too late to salvage the win.

“We came out a little slow against McDaniel, but when we got some momentum, we really played selfless and out worked them,” Cronin said.

Once the purple and white were able to find their rhythm, they executed their game plan and were able to walk away with the win.

Regaining their confidence after handedly beating McDaniel, Amherst faced their next opponent, Dickinson, on March 17.
Starting the game strong, Cronin and Passarelli wreaked havoc within the Dickinson defense and racked up two goals each with apparent ease.

Following a slight lull, Dickinson’s Maddy Siebold was able to breath life back into the Red Devils late in the first half, but a Passarelli goal quickly restored the purple and white’s advantage.

Breaking for the half, Amherst had momentum and looked to maintain it for the remaining 30 minutes.

The second half was full of excitement as goals began to fly for both sides. Seibold broke down the Amherst defense once again to start the second half, but Kusiak and Passarelli answered, opening the floodgates for the purple and white.

Julia Crerend ’18, Haughton, Devin O’Connor ’16 and Passarelli all made the final contributions to the score, giving Amherst the 13-7 win.

The team’s showing against Dickinson highlighted both a strong team and individual performance. Passarelli produced four goals, with assists from Krueger and O’Connor. First-year Lindsey Call displayed her willingness to compete, recovering four ball controls for the purple and white. Rowena Schenk ’18, Kusiak, Krueger and Forrest played major roles as well with three ground ball pick-ups each.

The team was able to board their plane proud of their play in the sunshine state, but with the knowledge that there is still work to be done with the rest of their season before them. The purple and white are back in action on Wednesday, March 23, for a 6:30 p.m. game at Springfield College. They then face conference opponent Hamilton on Saturday, March 26 at noon in Clinton, New York.