The Amherst women’s soccer team extended its win streak to four and its unbeaten streak to six with a victory over the Wesleyan Cardinals in the Mammoths’ sole match-up of the week on Saturday.
The win came at a crucial time in the season, as the Mammoths needed to top the Cardinals in order to secure a spot in the upcoming NESCAC tournament. Saturday also marked Amherst’s homecoming and the team’s Senior Day.
The stands were packed with alumni as the team’s four seniors — co-captain Meredith Manley, co-captain Delancey King, Hannah Guzzi and Allison Neveu — were honored before stepping onto Hitchcock field for one of the last times of their careers.
Wesleyan was first to get on the board, knocking the ball past junior goalkeeper Chelsea Cutler 17 minutes into the first half to give the visitors a shock 1-0 lead.
Rubii Tamen ’19 was quick to answer, however, netting a goal of her own just two minutes later.
As time ticked off the clock, it seemed as though the contest would head into the half tied at 1-1.
At the 38:01 mark, though, Natalie Landau ’21 found the back of the net. Landau proceeded to score two more goals within the next five minutes.
Thanks to Landau’s first collegiate hat trick, which occurred in a remarkable four-minute span, the Mammoths went into halftime with a comfortable three-goal cushion.
The Cardinals managed to notch one more goal in the second half, but the visitors from Middletown were unable to make up the deficit Landau’s goals had created, and Amherst left the field with a 4-2 win that served a testament to the team’s determination.
“Things were undoubtedly tough for a good bit there at the beginning of the season, but we have totally managed to shift the momentum this past month and the results have shown that we’ve picked it up,” Manley said. “While we might look like the underdogs on paper, I know this team is capable of going far.”
For her performance in the Wesleyan contest, especially her hat trick, Landau was named the NESCAC player of the week for the first time in her Amherst career.
The Mammoths were scheduled to play Tuesday against the Trinity Bantams, but the game was cancelled due to inclement weather.
With the win over Wesleyan, Amherst improved to 8-5-1 overall on the season and managed to hit .500 in NESCAC play with a 4-4-1 record.
As the statistics currently stand, the Mammoths have been the highest scoring team in the NESCAC this year, posting the highest average goals per game statistic at 2.79.
Guzzi is the leading individual goal scorer and points scorer in the conference, firing home 11 goals over the course of the season to give her an impressive 23 points on the year.
The Amherst women will look toward preparing for the impending NESCAC playoffs which begin on Saturday, Oct. 28.
Amherst finished the previous year’s tournament as champions and will look to repeat this year.
