AMHERST — The Amherst College women’s soccer team dominated early scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes a 3-0 win against Hamilton on Saturday.
Amherst sophomore Rubii Tamen opened the scoring just three minutes into the game, and senior captain Ashlyn Heller followed with another goal less than five minutes later, finding the ball in the 6-yard box off a free kick from teammate Megan Root.
Impressed with her team’s potential but not necessarily their performance, coach Jen Hughes said Amherst can do even more and is looking for her team to play in a complete 90-minute victory.
“We have been coming out really strong and we have been putting a lot of goals on the board, which is awesome,” Hughes said, “but then we have a huge dip in intensity and it results in a lack of our ability to really continue to put things together.”
To Hughes’s point, the second half began dull for Amherst, as Hamilton got shots off, something Amherst only allowed once in the first half.
Amherst goalkeeper Chelsea Cutler made three sprawling saves in that second half to keep Hamilton scoreless. Those saves gave Amherst (7-2-1, 4-1-1 NESACAC) an offensive boost, as it unleashed 14 shots of their own in the second half.
“The fact that our backs and our goalkeeper have been so solid, it gives us a lot of energy and momentum in the attack so we are able to get numbers forward which is critical to be able to put goals in the back of the net,” Hughes said. “I give our defense a lot of credit.”
Senior Emily Hester notched Amherst’s third goal with 28 minutes to go with a long-range shot that went over the head of Hamilton goalkeeper Emily Dumont, while Cutler secured the team’s second straight shutout victory in as many games to lead Amherst a fourth straight win.
Cutler, who is in her first season as Amherst’s starting goalkeeper, has only allowed six goals in over 900 minutes of play this season while making 38 saves.
“I attribute my success to the ten on the field in front of me. I am very confident but it takes ten people before it gets to me,” Cutler said.
With the NESCAC playoffs just three weeks away, Amherst now sits at the No. 2 spot in the standings, behind national No.1 Williams College and Connecticut College and Trinity trailing not too far behind.
Amherst continues their home stand at Hitchcock Field on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. against Keene St.
Sarah Corso is a journalism student at UMass and can be reached at sarcorso@gmail.com.