Box Score AMHERST, Mass. – The No. 13 Amherst College field hockey team used a pair of first half goals to shutout non-conference opponent Keene State 2-0 Wednesday night at Gooding Field.
Amherst (2-1) got on the board in the 11th minute when Caroline Fiore took advantage of a corner opportunity to find the back of the net for her first score of the season. The sophomore collected the corner pass from Annike Nygren at the top left of the circle, and blasted a low shot to beat Owl goaltender Meaghan Dwyer on her right side.
The Jeffs nearly notched another score just a minute later, with Fiore finding the ball in the circle and taking a well-placed shot that forced Dwyer to make a diving save to her left.
Keene State (3-3) recorded their first offensive scare of the game at the 20-minute mark. After earning their second corner of the half, Kayla Renaud sent a hard shot from the top of the circle just inches wide of the goal.
The Purple & White would once again use a penalty corner to tally their second and final goal of the game. With just under four minutes left in the half, senior Annie Turnbull would send the ball across the top of the circle to Cronin, who was able to slide the ball past the Keene State netminder to make it a 2-0 contest.
The second half featured 35 minutes of scoreless action as neither team could find the back of the net despite having notable offensive opportunities.
With 15:30 left on the clock, Marita Brothers made a clutch defensive save for Keene State after Turnbull was able to one-touch a bouncing ball in the circle towards the net.
Amherst edged KSC in both shots and corner opportunities, 16-7 and 9-2, respectively. Horwitz made six saves in the winning effort. Owl goaltender Dwyer (3-3) took the loss for Keene State with two goals against and five saves, while Gwendolyn Thayer recorded eight saves after entering the game in a relief effort.
The Owls return to conference play Saturday at 10:00am when they travel to Fitchburg State University.
