Box Score MANSFIELD, Conn. – The Amherst College soccer team withstood an early Eastern Connecticut State University goal and a late bid to force overtime and went on to a 5-2 non-conference victory Tuesday night at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex.
Ranked No. 2 in New England and No. 12 in Division III, Amherst (7-1-1) defeated Eastern (6-5-1) for the fifth time in the last six meetings by scoring twice in a span of three minutes late in the contest after Eastern senior Chelsea Downer's (Colchester) seventh goal of the season had pulled the Warriors to within 3-2 with 12 minutes left in regulation.
Amherst, which won its first 20 matches last year before being eliminated in the NCAA tournament, turned to a deep bench which accounted for four goals and two assists.Senior Daniela Marchitto's (Orange) sixth goal of the season in the 20th minute lifted Eastern into an early lead, but the Lord Jeffs got a goal and assist each from senior All-America midfielder Kathryn Nathan and junior forward Chloe McKenzie to move out to a 3-1 lead with 14 minutes left in the match.
McKenzie scored her fifth and sixth goals of the season in 19 minutes off the bench and Nathan contributed her third goal of the season to tie the match at 1-1 six minutes before halftime, then assisted on junior midfielder Kate Sisk's first goal of the season that put the visitors up for good, 2-1, with two minutes left in the first half and on junior forward Sarah Duffy's third goal of the year that completed the scoring with 2:27 left.
The Warriors were limited to two shots in the first half, both by Marchitto. Marchitto's left-footed low drive forced Amherst freshman keeper Holly Burwick to make a save at the right post 17 minutes into a scoreless match, but Marchitto followed two minutes later with her 39th career goal on passes from senior midfielder Kelly Wallace (South Windsor) and forward Taylor Buchanan (Ellington) to vault the Warriors into an early lead. Marchitto outran Amherst senior back Emily Little on the left flank and unloaded a high drive . Burwick leaped to get a hand on the ball but managed only to bat it into the cage.
Wallace gained her second assist of the night – the 25th of her career – when her cross from the end line carried untouched across the box to Downer, who one-timed the ball past Burwick from the far post to cut the visitor's lead to 3-2.
Eastern senior Mackenzie MacLeod (Northfield) made two saves and was charged with Amherst's first four goals.Burwick also stopped two shots for her seventh win.
After allowing only one goal through their first seven matches and rising to No. 5 nationally and No. 1 in New England, the Lord Jeffs surrendered two goals for the second straight match. The Warriors were attempting to win as many as two straight matches for the first time this year. Eastern was coming off Saturday's 2-1 overtime victory over Keene State College, getting the game-ending goal late in OT by Downer.
Eastern visits the University of Massachusetts Boston Saturday at 1 p.m. in a Little East Conference match against two conference unbeaten teams.
