AMHERST – First year Gabby Horner (Allentown, NJ) scored five goals - including the game winner - to lead the #13 Tufts University women's lacrosse team to a 14-13 win over #17 Amherst College Saturday afternoon at Gooding Field in what was the season opener for both squads.
With the score knotted at 10-10 midway through the second half, Horner netted an unassisted goal to give the Jumbos a lead they would not relinquish. Junior Stephanie Perez (East Providence, RI) scored with 9:42 remaining to give Tufts a two-goal cushion, and Amherst would cut its deficit to one on three occasions but could not complete the comeback.
In addition to Horner's five goals, juniors Kelly Hyland (Acton, MA) and Lara Kozin (Suffern, NY) each had two goals and two assists for Tufts, which held a 25-16 advantage in shots on the day. Amherst got six goals from Marta Randall and four assists from Kelley Trapp, while first year MC McClellan made eight saves in her collegiate debut but was credited with the loss. Sara Bloom (Summit, NJ) stopped two shots for the Jumbos.
Trapp needed only 38 seconds to put Amherst on the board, but Tufts responded with three goals in a span of 2:11 to take control. The teams would alternate goals the rest of the period, as the Jumbos carried a 7-5 lead into the break.
Amherst cut its deficit to one goal at 7-6, 8-7 and 9-8, finally tying the game at 9-9 when Randall netted an unassisted goal with 16:31 remaining in the second half. Kozin handed the lead back to Tufts, only to have Randall respond with another goal on a nice feed from Trapp. Horner and Perez strung together a pair of goals that brought the score to 12-10, and the Jumbos held on for the win despite Randall scoring twice more in the final three minutes.
Tufts will travel to take on Colby next Friday.The Lord Jeffs will return to action Tuesday when they host Oneonta State at 5 pm.
Game Box Score
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Game release courtesy of Amherst College
