The Amherst field hockey team faced two fierce competitors this week, Trinity and Hamilton. The purple and white fell to the Bantams on Wednesday, Oct. 26 on Gooding Field. Later that week on Saturday, Oct. 29 the purple and white were knocked out of postseason play by the Continentals in the NESCAC quarterfinals.

Amherst entered their last game of the regular season against Trinity on Wednesday afternoon looking to gain momentum. Even with their position secured in the NESCAC championship tournament, the purple and white did not approach this game with any less mental preparedness than if they were fighting for their postseason lives.

The senior night game started with an early goal within the first three minutes of the opening whistle, when a loose ball floated, unclaimed, in front of the cage. A Bantam player controlled the ball and was able to find the back of the net, setting the score at 1-0 in Trinity’s favor.

As play continued, Amherst created more opportunities and was able to get more shots off on goal. Mary Margaret Stoll ’17 had a good chance off of a penalty corner, but unfortunately was not able to convert. The purple and white were not able to produce before the whistle blew to signal the end of the first half.

After the intermission, Trinity doubled their score to two just 10 minutes into the second half. Amherst dug deep and kept charging towards goal until finally at the 5:39 mark, Shannon Tierney ’19 scored her third goal of the season to make the score 2-1 and keep Amherst’s hope alive for the remaining minutes of the game.

The purple and white were not able to find the back of the net to tie up the game before the final whistle blew and had to settle for a 2-1 loss to finish their regular season.

Entering playoffs, Saturday marked the beginning of the NESCAC championship tournament for the purple and white. Amherst earned the sixth seed, matching them up against the third-seeded Continentals, with the game being played on Hamilton’s home field.

With a Hamilton goal in the 14th minute of the first half, Amherst was forced to play from behind for nearly the entirety of the game. Although the purple and white were not able to make up for the one-goal deficit, they stll battled hard for the rset of the quarterfinal matchup.

Sophomore Kendall Codey was in shooting distance of the goal and came close to evening the score, but was denied by Hamilton’s goalie.

Laura Schwartzman ’20 and Tierney also created trouble for the Continental defense late in the game, but were not able to create any chances to bring the purple and white level and the match ended with the score at 1-0 in favor of Hamilton.

After bowing out of the NESCAC tournament, Amherst finishes up league play ranked sixth in the conference. The purple and white now wait to hear if they will receive an at-large bid to the NCAA championship tournament later this month.