Crerend’s Late Goal Lifts No. 7 Amherst Over No. 17 Tufts, 7-6 in NESCAC Thriller

Photo is courtesy of Amherst College

AMHERST, Mass. – Amherst College's Julia Crerend '18 scored with seven seconds remaining to break a 6-6 deadlock and the seventh-ranked Purple & White scored four unanswered goals in the second half to complete a thrilling comeback victory over No. 17 Tufts University, 7-6 on Saturday afternoon at Pratt Field in NESCAC women's lacrosse action.

With the win, Amherst has now won four games in a row and improves to 9-2 overall, 6-2 in NESCAC action, while Tufts moves to 6-6 on the season, 2-5 in league play.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• A back-and-forth start to the first period featured two goals aside in a span of five minutes as Hannah Krueger '17 and Rachel Passarelli '16 each found the back of the net for Amherst, while Caroline Ross collected two goals for Tufts, with an assist from Brigid Bowser on the first score to make it 2-2 at the 20:44 mark.
• Caroline Kingsley put Tufts ahead when she scored a man-up goal on a free position shot at the 15:31 mark.
• Kate Wyeth '17 answered for the Purple & White at the 11:14 mark as she capitalized on a feed from Passarelli to make it 3-3.
• Ross continued to excel in the first stanza as she scored on a pass from Gabby Vinci with 4:30 on the clock, and then scored on a free position attempt with just 36 seconds left in the period, to make it 5-3 in favor of the Jumbos after 30 minutes of action.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• After a scoreless 8:17 to start the second half, Bowser took advantage of a free position opportunity and scored to give Tufts a 6-3 advantage with 21:43 remaining in the game.
• Amherst responded quickly through Krueger who fired in her second of the game just 21 seconds later to cut the deficit back to two (6-4).
• Tremendous defense highlighted the middle portion of the second frame as both Christy Forrest '16 and Audrey Evers each made a pair of critical saves between the posts to keep the score at 6-4.
• At the 8:11 mark, Mia Haughton '16 narrowed the Purple & White's deficit to one when she found the back of the net unassisted to make it 6-5.
• Haughton then found Passarelli for the game-tying goal at the 4:09 mark to set the score at 6-6.
• Controlling possession late in the game, Amherst had several good looks at the go-ahead goal, but a shot high, and one wide, followed by a save from Evers held the score at 6-6 with 19 seconds left.
• With just seven ticks on the clock, a Krueger pass found Crerend who fired the ball into the nylon to give Amherst a 7-6 edge. Katie Paolano '16 then sealed the victory on the ensuing draw and complete the Purple & White's thrilling victory.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Forrest earned the win between the pipes from Amherst, making seven saves, picking up six ground balls and causing a pair of turnovers, while Wyeth added four ground balls.
• Rowena Schenck '18 led all players with four draw controls, while Claire Cagnassola '17 followed with three.
• Evers made eight saves in the losing effort for Tufts, while Ross led the Jumbos with four ground balls and forced two turnovers.

UP NEXT

• Amherst returns to action Wednesday, April 20 when it travels to Mount Holyoke College for a non-league matchup at 6:30 p.m. in South Hadley, Mass.
• Tufts will be back in action Tuesday, April 19 when it hosts Bates College in NESCAC play at 4:30 p.m. in Medford, Mass.