After its first week in action, the Amherst field hockey team is off to a strong start. On Sept. 7, the Mammoths won their season opener, defeating Mount Holyoke by a 3-2 scoreline.

Although Mount Holyoke took an early lead in the first half of the game, captain Elizabeth Turnbull ’18 evened the match two minutes later off a corner insertion pass from midfielder Laura Schwartzman ’20.

Later in the half, Turnbull scored again off another assist from Schwartzman, securing a halftime lead for the Mammoths. Kendall Codey ’19 tallied the game-winner goal in the second half to extend Amherst’s lead to 3-1. Mount Holyoke responded with a tally of their own, but the Lyons were unable to find the tying goal.

Overall, Amherst ended the game with 14 shots on goal compared to Mount Holyoke’s five, and six penalty corner opportunities compared to Mount Holyoke’s four.

The 13th-ranked Mammoths returned to the field on Saturday, Sept. 9, defeating No. 8 Bowdoin 2-1 in a huge upset that doubled as Amherst’s home opener.

The win marked the Mammoths’ first over the Polar Bears since 2013, breaking a streak of four consecutive losses to their Maine rivals.

Turnbull continued her dominant start to the season with a goal in the first half, giving Amherst an early lead. Once again, Schwartzman set her up with a beautiful penalty corner assist, her fourth of the season.

Early in the second half, Bowdoin tied the score up, and the game stayed even for the next fifteen minutes of play.

However, with 16 minutes left on the clock, Turnbull tallied her fourth goal of the season to secure the victory for Amherst, this time off an assist from Heather Brannan ’20. The Mammoths withheld a fierce Bowdoin effort to tie the game and came away with a season-defining win.

Amherst bested Bowdoin 7-5 in shots on target and 7-6 in corner opportunities. Goalie Emilie Flamme ’20 made four saves, earning her second win of the season.

“Nothing can describe the experience of working very well with your team and beating one of your biggest rivals,” Flamme said.

Amherst then closed out its eventful first week of action with a dominating 4-0 shutout of Keene State.

Once again, the Mammoths rode a strong defensive effort and timely shot-making to victory. With both defenses dominating in the first half, the match seemed destined to go into the half tied at zero. However, Shannon Tierney ’19 scored the game’s first goal in the dying minutes of the first half to give Amherst a 1-0 going into the locker room.

Although Keene State fought hard to try and find a tying goal, the Mammoths scored the all-important next goal, courtesy of first year Anna Agathis’s first collegiate tally. This second tally blew the game open, with Amherst adding two more goals in the final 15 minutes, including Tierney’s second tally of the game.

For her strong showings throughout the team’s three matches, including four goals and one assist, Turnbull was named NESCAC player of the week.

The team will return to action with another conference tilt against Middlebury at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 16, on Gooding Field at home.