Amherst, Mass. – September 23, 2009 – The 16th-ranked Amherst College field hockey team played host to local foe Springfield College this evening at Gooding Field in non-conference action and improved to 4-0 at home this season with a 5-2 win over the Pride.

The win, which snapped a five-year losing streak tot he Pride, improved the Lord Jeffs record to 4-1, while the Pride dropped to 3-3 in 2009.

Amherst opened the scoring early in the game, as senior tri-captain Haley Douds punched home a goal just 2:08 into the match. Classmate and fellow tri-captain Molly Malloy assisted on the goal during a scramble in front of the Springfield goal.

Just over six minutes later, Amherst took a 2-0 lead when sophomore defender Sarah McCarrick lifted a penalty stroke off the crossbar. The next goal of the game came nearly 20 minutes later, as Springfield cut into the Lord Jeff lead off a penalty corner. Becca Gamble found Meagan Dobson at the top of the circle, who pushed the ball to Karah Heald for a long drive past Amherst goalie Emily Vitale.

Just three minutes before halftime, Amherst sophomore Carly Dudzik scored off another Malloy assist to put the Jeffs up 3-1. The Lord Jeffs increased their lead to 5-1 on goals from first-year Katie McMahon and Dudzik once again. Both scores came during nice penalty corner scores with double-assists.

Springfield scored the nightÂ's final goal just over two and a half minutes before the final whistle, as Dobson found Kaila Dee in traffic on a broken corner play.

For the game, Amherst out-shot Springfield 15-7, and won the corner battle 13-10. Vitale finished the night with just one save, while Alison McCarthy and Anna Calano combined for seven saves in goal for Springfield.

Springfield returns to action on Saturday when it opens up New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play when it hosts rival Babson at 1:00 pm.