Box Score AMHERST, Mass. (October 7, 2026) – The Western New England field hockey team could not generate much on the offensive side of the ball on Wednesday night, falling to the Mammoths of Amherst College by a final score of 3-0. 

Records:

• Western New England: 7-4
• Amherst College: 6-3

How it Happened:

First Quarter:

• Amherst College had the first chances of the game to find the back of the net as Cate LaFreniere and Genevieve Caruso took shots on Alex Tardugno, but the WNE junior came away with saves to keep the Mammoths from capturing an early goal. 
• Mikayla Mrzywka had the first chance at goal for WNE, coming nine and a half minutes into the contest, but Mrzywka's shot was blocked, keeping the Golden Bears from scoring. 
• The WNE defense held Amherst to just four shots in the opening 15 minutes, all of which were saved by Tardugno as the opening quarter ended with no score. 

Second Quarter:

• Amherst came out flying in the second quarter, picking up a shot on goal and a penalty corner, which also generated a shot on goal, but Tardugno continued to stay strong between the pipes. The Mammoths broke through four minutes into the quarter, however, when Caruso found the back of the net for the eighth time this season on an assist from Caroline Busier, giving Amherst the 1-0 lead. 
• Western New England spent much of the second quarter in the defensive zone, which resulted in another goal for the Mammoths with 4:40 remaining in the quarter when LaFreniere tallied her second goal of the season, doubling the Amherst lead in the game. 
• WNE had no shots in the second quarter, while Amherst was awarded four penalty corners and a pair of goals. 

Third Quarter:

• WNE surrendered another tally to the Mammoths just 1:33 into the third quarter, giving Amherst a 3-0 lead when Caruso found the back of the cage for the second time in the game. 
• WNE generated some offense following the goal, picking up the first penalty corner of the game. Maddie Ripley took a shot on goal following the corner, though saved by Amherst's Grace Puchalski.
• The shot from Ripley would be WNE's only shot of the third quarter, while Amherst took five shots overall, including four on goal. Alex Tardugno made three saves in the frame. 

Fourth Quarter:

• The Golden Bears had the best chance at goal in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, generating another penalty corner and picking up another shot on goal from Ripley, but saved by Kate Grady for Amherst, keeping WNE scoreless. 
• Alex Tardugno kept the Mammoths off the scoreboard following a flurry of chances, coming up with three saves in a span of just over a minute to keep the Golden Bears in the contest. 
• The Golden Bears could not come up with any further offense in the game, while Amherst took six shots in the quarter, five on goal, all saved by Tardugno, as Western New England fell by a final score of 3-0. 

Inside the Lines:

• The Golden Bears had just three shots in the game, two of which were on goal, both taken by Maddie Ripley. 
• Alex Tardugno made 14 saves between the pipes for the Golden Bears, facing 17 shots on goal on the night. 
• Genevieve Caruso led Amherst with a pair of goals on the night, her eighth and ninth tallies of the season. 
• Western New England is still in search of its first win over the Mammoths, dropping to 0-7 all-time. Six of the seven games have been shutouts in favor of Amherst.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears will be back in action on Saturday, October 10 at 1:00 PM from Golden Bear Stadium, hosting the University of Hartford for Youth Day and their Play4TheCause Game.