Amherst blanks Lasell in women’s soccer

AMHERST, Mass. – Four different Mammoths found the back of the net Sunday afternoon at Hitchcock Field as the Amherst College women's soccer team powered past Lasell College, 4-0 in non-conference play.

With the victory, Amherst improves to 3-0 on the season, while Lasell falls to 0-3.

The Lasers' best chance of the bout came with 2:40 remaining. Setting up a solid opportunity with a through pass, senior Carly Zdanek (Newton, N.J.) nearly helped Lasell avoid the shut out, however Brooke Harrington proved up to the task as she cut down the angle and smothered the shot.

Holding a comfortable lead at the end of 45 minutes, scores by Maeve McNamara, Rubii Tamen and Cassie Chin gave the Mammoths a 3-0 edge at the break.

McNamara got the home team on the board 9:57 into the matchup after deflecting a Lasers clearing attempt to teammate Alexa Juarez. Staying with the play and immediately racing towards net, McNamara then gathered Juarez's leading pass, cut back on her defender and sent a shot in to the top left corner.

Doubling up the score just over 10 minutes later, Tamen finished off a low, hard shot by Natalie Landau after a diving save by the Lasell keeper to tally her third goal in as many games.

Extending Amherst's advantage to 3-0 in the 33rd minute and netting what stood as the final score of the first half, Chin capitalized on a centering pass from Sloan Askins from just inside midfield. Settling the ball at the top center of the goalie box, Chin blasted a shot into the bottom left corner.

Capping off the 4-0 victory, Landau sent a feed from Askins over the goal line at the 71:29 mark to close out scoring for the Mammoths.

Splitting time in net, Erica Sanders (3-0) made one stop in the first half to earn the win for Amherst, while Harrington registered three saves in the second. Freshman Angela Sanzari (North Haven, Conn.) took the loss for Lasell despite an impressive 12-save individual performance.

The Mammoths owned the edge in both shots and corner kicks, 19-6 and 4-2, respectively.

Lasell returns home to open defense of its Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) eight straight championship string on Wednesday against GNAC newcomer Colby-Sawyer College, beginning at 4:00 at Taylor Field. Amherst returns to the field on Saturday, Sept. 15 when it travels to No. 18 Middlebury for a 12 p.m. NESCAC contest.

(Courtesy of Amherst Athletics) 

-- 30 --