SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Powered by a two-goal effort from sophomore forward Megan Kim, the Amherst College soccer team defeated Mount Holyoke College by a 4-0 margin in non-conference action on Thursday at the MHC Soccer Field. With the win, the Jeffs improve to 4-1-2 overall, while the Lyons slip to 5-5-0.
It was a close battle to start the contest, but Amherst grabbed the game's first lead as senior forward Hannah Cooper (Bethesda, Md./Chevy Chase) collected the ball and dribbled around an MHC defender. Making a big cut to the right, she sent a long shot into the lower left corner past a diving Zoe Marshall (Mississauga, Ontario/Cawthra Park Secondary) in the 14th minute.
Mount Holyoke had a solid chance to even the score just 20 seconds later as first year defender Anne Shaffrey (Charlottesville, Va./Charlottesville) took a shot from the outside, forcing the goalie to dive for it. The ball came loose to junior forward Kara Singleton (Parsonsfield, Maine/Sacopee Valley), but an Amherst defender was there to battle the ball away.
The Lyons had another attempt squashed nearly three minutes later after junior forward Cassidy Robinson (Lebanon, N.H./Lebanon) collected a loose ball that was knocked down by the Amherst defense. She fired a great kick on net, but Jeffs' goalie Holly Burwick (New Caanan, Conn./New Caanan) quickly scooped it up.
Amherst furthered their advantage in the 21st minute as senior forward Sarah Duffy (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Warde) came down the right side and threaded the ball into traffic in front. Kim (Newport Beach, Calif./Milton Academy) was there to one-touch it in past Marshall for the 2-0 lead.
Despite a number of point blank attempts in the closing minute, including a bullet shot off the foot of first year midfielder Ashlyn Heller (Mendham, N.J./Newark Academy), Amherst headed into halftime with a 2-0 advantage.
In the second half, the visiting Jeffs continued to press offensively, which paid off in the 58th minute as junior midfielder Ariana Twomey (Boxford, Mass./Pingree School) fed a pass up to Kim off a corner kick. Battling thought traffic, Kim knocked it in at the left corner for the 3-0 lead.
Marshall continued to stay strong in the Lyons net, stopping a bevy of attempts, including a hard shot by junior forward Alex Hart (San Francisco, Calif./San Fran Waldorf), which she punched away.
Amherst remained persistent and finally broke through for their fourth goal in the 87th minute after junior middie Emma Rothkopf (Harvard, Mass./The Bromfield School) fired a kick off the corner into the middle. The ball was then lobbed into the right side of the net off the foot of first year Sarah Frohman (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale).
Mount Holyoke's Marshall made a number of solid saves, stopping 14 shots in the Lyons net. For Amherst, Burwick made three saves over 75:37 minutes of action before being relieved by junior Meghan Mills (Far Hills, N.J./Bernards), who was not forced to make a stop in 14:23 minutes of relief.
The Lyons return to action on Saturday when they host MIT for a 1pm NEWMAC match. Amherst travels to Hamilton, also on Saturday, for a 12pm NESCAC tilt.
