WESTFIELD, Mass. – Amherst attacker Kate Becker (Princeton, N.J.) tallied five goals and added two assists to lead #19-ranked Amherst College to an 18-9 victory over Westfield State in a non-conference game on Wednesday night from Gooding Field in Amherst, Mass.
The Owls fall to an even 4-4 on the season while the Mammoths, ranked 19th in the latest 2024 ILWomen/IWLCA Division III poll, improve to 3-4 overall.
Natalie DeMaio (Westwood, Mass.), Megan Bailey (Quincy, Mass.) and Jessica Connors (Scarborough, Maine) each scored twice for Westfield with Arianna Andresen (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) leading the Owls with two assists.
Mia Raven (Philadelphia, Pa.) posted a four-point night for Amherst, collecting one goal and three assists to complement the seven-point effort from Becker.
The Owls outscored Amherst 7-5 in the second half, but damage was done early in the game by the Mammoths to put the game out of reach.
Eight of Amherst's 18 goals came in the first quarter, with Mykenzie Black (Hopedale, Mass.) scoring the only goal of the period for Westfield as the Mammoths charged out to an 8-1 advantage after the first period. Becker closed the frame by scoring three straight goals to push the lead to seven for Amherst.
Connors added a second marker for the Owls with 3:30 remaining in the half, snapping a streak of ten unanswered goals scored by Amherst, leading 13-2 at halftime.
The Owls goaltending tandem of Sydney Smith (Dalton, Mass.) and Kara Banagan (Niskayuna, N.Y.) split time in net with Smith starting the opening 30 minutes, registering eight saves while shouldering the loss. Banagan entered in the second half to generate three saves. Mammoths netminder Jessye Salmon (Fleetwood, N.Y.) secured her third win of the season.
Amherst doubled up the Owls in shots at 32-16 and held a 21-10 advantage in draw controls as well.
Westfield State will enter conference play beginning on Friday as the Owls travel to Mass. Maritime for a 7:00 P.M. start time.