The Amherst women’s soccer team opened the 2017 season with a bang, tallying a total of 11 goals in only two games. With wins against Mount Holyoke and NESCAC rival Bowdoin, their record stands at 2-0 overall (1-0 NESCAC).

On a humid Thursday night under the lights at Mount Holyoke, the Mammoths completely dominated the Lyons in the 90-minute match. By the time the buzzer sounded to signal the end of the first half, Amherst already led the home team 8-0.

Before the final minutes ticked off the clock in the second half, the Mammoths tacked on two additional goals to win their first game of the season by a 10-0 margin.

The purple and white’s first goal of the game came within the five-minute mark and was an own goal from Mount Holyoke. First-years Natalie Landau, Cassie Chin and Claire Nam contributed a goal each in the first 45 minutes of the match.

To round off the first-half scoring, Grace Orr ’19 notched two goals and defender-turned-striker Rubii Tamen ’19 found the back of the net off a well-placed header.

The second half of the game saw significantly less scoring, with senior standout Hannah Guzzi adding the Mammoths’ two final goals of the game.

Additionally, Guzzi, Nam, Landau and Delancey King ’18 tallied an assist each in the winning effort. The match was an uneventful one for junior goalkeeper Chelsea Cutler, who only had to make one stop.

On Saturday, Amherst then played its home opener against conference foe Bowdoin. The match proved to be a much closer one than the earlier meeting between the Lyons and the Mammoths.

Amherst held a slight advantage in shots, taking 12 compared to the Polar Bears’ nine. Both teams placed five shots on goal, but Bowdoin was unable to get past Cutler while Guzzi managed to beat Bowdoin goalkeeper Sabrina Albanese with a little over 20 minutes left in the game.

Guzzi and Tamen logged four shots apiece, but the team struggled somewhat to find their footing in the first half.

“We were playing a little frantically at first, but as the match wore on we managed to establish a rhythm and play our game,” King noted. “Going into the next game we know we need to bring that intensity from the start.”

The Mammoths have a busy week ahead of them with three upcoming games. On Wednesday, Sept. 13, the Amherst women host Springfield College for a non-conference match-up at 5:00 p.m.

Amherst continues NESCAC play with another home game against the Middlebury Panthers on Saturday, Sept. 16, at noon. To finish out the week, the Mammoths will travel to Boston to face Wentworth Institute of Technology at on Sunday, Sept. 17, at 2 p.m.