Box Score NORTHAMPTON, Mass.--The Smith College field hockey team took the field at home for the final time in the regular season with an 8-1 loss to No. 10 Amherst College on a chilly, brisk Thursday afternoon.
The Pioneers are now 10-5, while the Jeffs up their mark to 11-2.
The game started fast, with three goals in the first four minutes. Â Smith opened the scoring with a speedy goal just 91 seconds in. Â
Alexa DeJesus (Somerset, Mass./Somerset) raced down the right side, and slid home a centering pass that
Kat Estes (Falmouth, Mass./Falmouth) slotted home for her third goal of the year. Â
Just over a minute later, Amherst knotted the score, when Madeline Tank netted an unassisted goal at the 2:46 mark. Â Tank gave Amherst the lead for good with her second goal of the game with just 3:52 played. Â The junior completed her hat-trick in the 13th minute to give the Jeffs a 3-1 advantage.Â
Meg Richardson (Kents Hill, Maine/Kents Hill School) denied the Jeffs a fourth goal with a defensive save on Krista Zsitvay's effort in the 18th minute, but Amherst would add two more goals before halftime. Â Annika Nygren scored an unassisted goal, and Tank set up Katie Paolano for a 5-1 lead.
Paolano added her second of the game early in the second half, off a pass from Sara Culhane. Â Culhane had a hand in the final two goals for Amherst, scoring the seventh and assisted Nygren for the eighth.
Both teams played two goalies. Â
Maddi Wyda (Baltimore, Md./The Park School) started for Smith and made eight saves in the first half. Â
Nora Demick (Watertown, Mass/Beaver Country Day) relieved and made six stops in the second stanza. Â Rachel Tannenbaum played the first 53 minutes in cage for Amherst, making one save, and Emily Horwitz finished out the game and also made one stop.
Smith will finish out the season on the road, starting with a key NEWMAC game against Springfield at 10:30 am on Saturday, October 26. Â Amherst travels to Trinity (CT) on October 30, with the game slated for a 6 p.m. start.
