Amherst Falls to Skidmore 4-3 in NCAA Field Hockey Second Round

Courtesy Tufts Sports Information

MEDFORD, Mass. - In an exciting, back-and-forth NCAA Field Hockey Championship second-round game, Skidmore College's Brittany O'Brien (Ridgefield, Conn.) scored with 3:18 remaining in the second half to lift the Thoroughbreds to a 4-3 victory against Amherst College in the rain at Tufts University's Bello Field on Saturday afternoon.

Skidmore (17-3) advances to play in the NCAA quarterfinals against host Tufts on Sunday at 1:00 pm. Tufts was a 5-1 winner over MIT in Saturday's other NCAA second-round game. Amherst, which had scored with 7:53 remaining to tie the game, finished its season with a 12-5 record.

The Thoroughbreds and Lord Jeffs were scoreless for the first 20 minutes of the game, but then tallied four total goals in the final 13:10 of the first half. Skidmore, who had a goal disallowed earlier, got on the scoreboard first when O'Brien fed a sweet cross to senior Elise Britt (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.). She knocked it in and her 22nd goal of the year put the Thoroughbreds up 1-0 in the 22nd minute.

Amherst answered soon. First-year Katie McMahon (Denville, N.J.) scored the first of her two goals on the afternoon less than five minutes later at 26:15 and the game was tied 1-1. Five minutes after that, the Lord Jeffs seized momentum with a go-ahead goal by senior Molly Molloy (Stamford, Conn.) from sophomore Chrissy Cantore (Hershey, Pa.) that came with 3:49 to go until halftime. However, the Thoroughbreds had an answer less than three minutes later, making it 2-2 with 1:09 on the clock when junior Lauren McCarthy (Ipswich, Mass.) scored during a penalty corner opportunity. Junior Katie Potter (Rumson, N.J.) assisted.

The fast-paced action of the first half did not let up in the second, despite miserable weather. Ten minutes into the second half, Skidmore took a 3-2 advantage with a goal by junior Christine Kemp (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) from sophomore Annie Rosencrans (Riverside, Calif.). The lead stood up as the game clock wound down under 10 minutes, but Amherst would respond to the sense of urgency. McMahon scored her second of the game and 10th of the year from Molloy to tie it at 3-3. The Lord Jeffs would finish the game with a 19-15 lead in the shots column.

With overtime looming, Skidmore controlled possession late in the second half. They had three penalty corners, and on the third Kemp took a shot that was blocked. O'Brien was there to collect the ball and score her 14th of the season for a 4-3 Thoroughbred lead. Amherst made one last rush, with a shot by Molloy saved by Skidmore sophomore keeper Liz Catinella (Sudbury, Mass.), and Molloy's shot after the rebound rolling wide.

Catinella had eight saves in the victory, including six in the second half. Sophomore Emily Vitale (Cheshire, Conn.) made three saves in the Amherst cage. Despite Amherst's advantage in shots, the Thoroughbreds posted a wide 17-7 margin in penalty corner opportunities.

Making its ninth NCAA appearance, Skidmore will look to advance to the semi-finals on Sunday against Tufts.