AMHERST, MASS. – The Williams women's lacrosse team (10–2, 5–2 NESCAC) was defeated by the Amherst Mammoths (9–3, 5–3 NESCAC) 11-10 today. Though the Ephs started off scoring the first goal of the game, the Mammoths responded by scoring 7 straight goals, 6 of which were made by Bridget Finley. The Ephs then manufactured an impressive scoring streak and ended the third quarter in a tie game — Williams and Amherst were then neck and neck throughout the final quarter. A final goal scored by Amherst's Morgan Lebek secured the win for the Mammoths.
Caroline Pratt '25 went in goal for the Ephs while Jessye Salmon went in goal for the Mammoths. The Ephs started things off at 13:28 when Claudia Russell '25 took advantage of a free position shot and put Williams up 1-0. At 12:54, the Ephs' strong defense denied Amherst a free position opportunity, keeping Williams in the lead.
But at 6:39 Amherst's Bridget Finley netted on a free position shot, tying up the game at 1-1. Then, in a player-up situation, Finley scored again off a pass from Emily Petersen, putting Amherst ahead at 2-1.
At 2:18, the Mammoths kept up the momentum when Clara Sosa netted on a free position shot, giving Amherst a 2-point advantage. With 50 seconds left in the quarter, Bridget Finley got a hattrick scoring on a free position shot — the Ephs were now down 4-1.
The Mammoths' scoring streak didn't stop in the second quarter. At 12:43, Bridget Finley scored her fourth goal of the game with an assist by Sofia Guttmann, putting Amherst at 5-1. Finley netted again at 10:25 — her fifth goal so far — on a free position shot. Amherst was now up by 5. Finley proved herself unstoppable with a sixth goal at 8:21 with an assist by Sydney Kang.
Following Bridget Finley's sixth goal, Anj Raman '24 went in goal for the Ephs. Isabel Arvelo '23 put an end to Amherst's scoring streak at 6:21, shrinking the Mammoths' lead to 5. Then, with 20 seconds left in the first half, Franny Donohue '26 scored the Ephs' third goal of the game and the EPHS TRAILED 7-3 going into halftime.
Williams started the second half out strong with a save from Anj Raman at 13:34. Franny Donohue then scored her second goal of the game at 12:48, shrinking Amherst's lead to 3. The Ephs weren't finished with their mission to catch up to the Mammoths — at 10:59 Sasha Landau '25 netted off a pass from Isabel Arvelo, putting Williams only 2 behind Amherst.
Abby Godwin '24 slotted home one of her own at 9:51, bringing the score to 7-6 and Williams down one goal. Amherst's Emily Petersen responded to the Ephs' streak by netting off a pass from Sydney Kang at 5:58, giving the Mammoths an 8-6 advantage. But Christina Halloran '24 shrunk Amherst's lead back to 1 at 5:02 when she made a successful free position shot.
With 1:29 left in the third quarter, Lauren Morganlander '26 tied up the game at 8-8 when she took advantage of a free position opportunity. So after starting out the third quarter at 3-7, the Ephs got their offense going and caught up to the Mammoths, leaving it all up to the last quarter in true Williams-Amherst fashion.
Caroline Stole went in goal for the Mammoths to start the fourth quarter. Amherst's Bridget Finley was quiet in the third quarter but came back in the fourth quarter at 14:18 to score her seventh goal of the day, giving Amherst back the lead, 9-8. But Claudia Russell responded by scoring her second goal of the game during a free position opportunity at 10:21, tying the score at 9.
Continuing with the ebbs and flows of the game, Emily Petersen slotted one home at 9:35 with an assist by Sydney Kang, giving Amherst the lead again at 10-9. Then, with less than 5 minutes left in the game, Franny Donohue pulled off a hat trick and tied it back up at 10-10.
With 1:39 left in the game and the Ephs and Mammoths neck and neck, Amherst's Morgan Lebek netted off a pass from Clara Sosa and put the Mammoths back on top at 11-10. Amherst maintained possession of the ball for the rest of the game, securing the win.
Amherst goalie Jessye Salmon made 6 saves and allowed 8 goals and Caroline Stole made 2 saves and allowed 2 goals, while Williams goalie Caroline Pratt made 2 saves and allowed 7 goals and Anj Raman made 6 saves and allowed 4 goals on the day.
"We didn't have much possession in the first half and weren't able to capitalize as much to start," said head coach
Alice Lee. "Proud of how our team took to the adjustments and fought as we were coming back. Looking forward to the next matchup,"
Next up for the Ephs is a home game against Tufts tomorrow at 2 p.m.
