Around the Herd: Oct. 17 to Oct. 24 in Athletics

Field Hockey

Led by Sam Maynard ’25, the No. 15 Amherst College field hockey team secured a 4-1 victory at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) on Thursday, Oct. 19. Despite a WPI goal early in the first quarter, the Mammoths responded swiftly, tying the score off a well-executed penalty corner: a precise pass by Kate Smith ’25 found Maynard who redirected the ball past the keeper and into the net. Just before halftime, Smith’s strategic play set Maynard up for another goal, granting the Mammoths a 2-1 lead. The score remained unchanged until the final seconds of the third quarter when a dime from Anna Aiello ’26 found Maynard once again, sealing her hat-trick and extending the Mammoths’ lead to two. After establishing a two-goal cushion, Muffie Mazambani ’24 solidified the victory with a final goal and set the stage for a much anticipated matchup against NESCAC foe Hamilton College.

Two days later, on Senior Day, it was sole-honoree Mazambani who shined, scoring two crucial goals that led Amherst to a resounding 4-1 victory over the Continentals. Hamilton got on the board first, but their lead was short-lived: another helper from Aiello gave Mazambani enough space to fire a powerful shot to the upper corner to tie the game. Mazambani’s hustle and skill led to another remarkable goal early in the third quarter — stealing the ball and taking it all the way herself, she secured her 13th goal of the season to put the Mammoths ahead 2-1. The momentum continued as Maynard and Justine Ligouri ’26 scored the final two goals of the game, accounting for the 4-1 final score. However, they could not sustain that momentum come Tuesday, dropping their final regular-season contest 2-1 to Trinity. After going down 2-0 early, the Mammoths fought their way back, getting a penalty-stroke goal from Ligouri with 1:17 to go to pull the deficit to one, but despite a chaotic final minute, the they could not find the back of the net. The Mammoths finish the regular season at 9-6 overall and 5-5 in conference play, earning the No. 7 seed, as will gear up for their postseason opener on the road against No. 2 seed Tufts on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 11 a.m.

Volleyball

Despite a stellar performance by Charlotte Rasmussen ’26, who delivered an impressive 18 kills, the Amherst volleyball team faced a tough challenge against UMass-Dartmouth on Friday Oct. 20, ultimately falling to the Corsairs 25-22, 25-12, 25-20 at LeFrak Gymnasium. Despite going down early, relentless effort from the Mammoths couldn’t turn the tide of the match, bringing their season record to 6-10. Nevertheless, standout individual performances abounded as Rasmussen led both teams in kills, setter Carly Cooper ’24 contributed 24 assists and 15 digs alongside four kills, and libero Lizzie Papalia ’25 led the Mammoths in digs with an impressive total of 19.

Undeterred, the Mammoths went on to secure a resounding four-set victory against the University of Hartford, whose team is currently transitioning from Division I to Division III, the following day. Led by first-year Tiana Richardson ’27, who notched a career-high 13 kills, the Mammoths prevailed 25-12, 18-25, 25-18, and 25-23. The win moved Amherst’s overall record to 7-10. The Mammoths’ next challenge awaits them on Friday, Oct. 27, when they host Bates for a NESCAC clash at 7 p.m. in LeFrak Gymnasium.

Football

In a rainy NESCAC matchup on Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium, the Amherst College football team suffered a 34-14 defeat to the Tufts Jumbos, surrendering three touchdown passes to Jumbos’ quarterback Michael Berluti. Despite gaining an early 7-0 on a 1-yard touchdown run by Cato Legaspi ’26, Tufts equalized shortly thereafter, and then took the lead on a touchdown from Jaden Richardson. The offense couldn’t get much going the rest of the day, as the Jumbos had extended their lead to a decisive 34-7 by the time Amherst managed to secure a final touchdown. Late in the fourth quarter, quarterback Mike Piazza ’24E found Carter Jung ’26 for a 16-yard score. With the loss, the Mammoths slipped to 2-4 on the season. Looking ahead, Amherst is set to face Little Three rival Wesleyan on the road on Saturday, Oct. 28 with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m.

Women’s Soccer

On a day in which they honored their six seniors — Ally Deegan ’24, Gigi Golden ’24, CiCi Curran ’25E, Mika Fisher ’25E, Liza Katz ’25E, and Abby Schwartz ’25E — No. 6 Amherst women’s soccer put on a dominant performance, securing a 3-0 shutout victory against NESCAC rival Hamilton on Gooding Field. Patience Kum ’25, the conference’s leading goal scorer, opened the scoring early with her 12th goal of the season, capitalizing on a precise free kick from Carter Hollingsworth ’25. Schwartz extended the lead 20 minutes later, scoring on her Senior Day after splitting three defenders and blasting a powerful shot past the Hamilton goalkeeper, and Brooke Ingemi ’26 sealed the victory just three minutes into the second half off an assist from Kate Quigley ’26. Sophomore goalkeeper Lulu Fickes ’26 delivered a standout performance in her second consecutive start, making a career-high five saves in the victory. On Tuesday, Oct. 24, the Mammoths clinched the NESCAC regular season title with a 1-0 win over Trinity. In an overly-physical game in which the Bantams committed 18 fouls and peppered the Mammoth goal throughout, Fickes kept them off the board and made multiple huge stops. After finding their footing, however, Amherst found a way to get the result: Alyssa Huynh ’25 sent a tantalizing ball into the box that went off a Trinity defender and fell to Precious Novidzro ’27, who buried the game-winning goal with 8:25 remaining. With the win, the Mammoths finished the regular season at 13-1-1 overall and 8-1-1 in conference play, clinching the No. 1 seed in the NESCAC Playoffs for the third straight year. They will host No. 8 seed Tufts in their NESCAC quarterfinal match on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 12:30 p.m. on Hitchcock Field looking to secure a semifinal appearance and defend their 2022 NESCAC title.

Men’s Soccer

A tight game between the No. 16 Amherst College men’s soccer team and the Hamilton Continentals on Saturday, Oct. 21 ended in a 1-1 tie, with the game-tying by Hamilton player Luke Peplowski coming in the final two minutes. Amherst got the scoring going early: Mohammed Nuhu ’27 scored an early goal, racing past the defense onto a curling through ball from Ada Okorogheye ’24E. From there, the two teams were evenly matched, playing a physical game that resulted in numerous fouls on both sides. Despite intense pressure from theContinentals, the Mammoths maintained their lead until the 88th minute. Hamilton capitalized on a corner kick, blasting home a mis-cleared ball to secure a late-game equalizer and sealing a 1-1 draw. The Mammoths got back on track on Tuesday night, earning a dominant 4-0 win versus Trinity to close their regular season. Declan Sung ’24E got the scoring going with a tally early in the first half, before Nuhu netted to double the lead. Sung got his second goal of the night in the second half, and Lucas Liu ’27 scored his first collegiate goal to account for the final margin. The Mammoths left Gooding Field with a 10-2-3 overall record, and a 5-1-3 record in conference play, having clinched the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. They will host No. 7 seed Wesleyan on Saturday, Oct. 28 in a Quarterfinal matchup on Hitchcock Field, looking to secure a second-consecutive semifinal berth.