No. 6 Amherst Drops Season Opening Matchup to No. 19 Colby, 6-5

Recap, photo courtesy of Amherst

AMHERST, Mass. – The Mammoths had a chance to net the equalizer with two seconds remaining in regulation, however Izzy Scribano picked up her 18th save of the day on the attempt as the No. 6 Amherst College women's lacrosse team was edged by No. 19 Colby College, 6-5 in Saturday's season opening battle at Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium.

With the loss, Amherst falls to 0-1 overall on the young season and to 0-1 in league play, while Colby kicks off 2019 with a 1-0 ledger (1-0 NESCAC).  Amherst returns to the field this Wednesday, March 6 when they host Springfield in a non-conference bout beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Jumping out to a 2-0 lead, the Mules netted two player-up scores in the opening 10 minutes to put the pressure on the home team early. Eliza Dean potted Colby's first goal of the season at the 26:58 mark with an assist from Kate Burkett before Banks Dotson added another score four minutes later following a dish from Bridget Horwood.

Getting the Mammoths on the board with 20:22 on the clock, Hannah Gustafson '21 tallied the first Amherst goal of the spring on a free position opportunity, beating the Colby keeper high stick side.
Colby countered 58 seconds later, with Emma Banks logging a free position score of her own before Annie Cohen '19 registered what stood as the final free position goal of the matchup at the 15:05 mark to push the score to 3-2 in favor of the Mules.

Grace Crowell and Grace Langmuir assisted on goals from Taylor Moore and Horwood at the 10:29 mark and 5:50 mark, respectively, to give the visitors a 5-2 lead with time winding down in the opening half.

Setting the score at 5-3 at the break, Gustafson teamed up with Claire Dunbar '21 with 2:11 on the clock as she faked a free position shot before dishing a pass to Dunbar on the far left post for the score.

The Mammoths were able to hold Colby to just one goal in the second half, however they were unable to pull off the comeback as time expired.

Wistreich found the back of the net at the 21:42 mark to bring Amherst back within one, however Moore responded six minutes later with her second goal of the day to give the Mules a two-goal cushion.

After 10 minutes of scoreless play, Maia Noyes '21 connected with Wistreich for the score to set the stage for an exciting final five minutes of action with the visitors holding a 6-5 lead.

Looking to pot the equalizer in the final minutes, the Mammoths rifled three shots on goal, including an attempt from point blank range with two seconds remaining in regulation, however Scribano finished off a career day in net with a clutch stop to seal the 6-5 Colby victory.

BY THE NUMBERS

• In between the pipes, Talia Land '20 (0-1) registered six saves for Amherst in the losing effort, while Scribano (1-0) racked up 18 stops in the win for the Mules.
• Amherst finished 2-for-10 on free position shots, while Colby went 1-for-6.
• Wistreich led the Mammoths offense with two goals on five shots, while Dunbar and Katherine Malone '20 each put five shots on target.
• Senior Sabrina Solow posted an Amherst high four ground balls and three forced turnovers in the game.
• Taylor Moore's two goals led the Mules, while McGara DeWan posted a contest-leading five draw controls. Dotson and Kristin Yorke each added two forced turnovers.