PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – No. 15 University of Rochester women's soccer fell to the 18th-ranked Amherst College Mammoths, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon at Edwin Fauver Stadium, in a back-and-forth, battle that featured a trio of lead changes in the second round of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament.
 
After an early chance for the Yellowjackets proved to be just a bit too far out of reach for Claire Grover, the Mammoths struck first just shy of the eight-minute mark of the first.
 
Brooke Ingemi found Abby Schwartz with a thru ball up the left side, past her defender, and on the give-and-go, Schwartz broke in and beat Grace Kuropatkin with a shot to the far post, finding the lower-right corner of the net to give Amherst a 1-0 lead.
 
Trailing 1-0, Rochester would notch its first shot on an attempt from Riya Kunderan that went wide in the ninth minute, but the Mammoths would hold possession for much of the first half, outshooting UR, 7-4 as they looked to double their lead.
 
Rochester's defense drew a pair of offsides calls on Amherst in the 10th minute, while shots from Sophia Haynes and Ingemi sailed wide and were blocked by the UR defense in the 11th and 12th minutes.
 
Schwartz found herself with another opportunity in the 15th minute, missing to the left of goal, while just past the 20-minute mark, the senior clanged one off the crossbar.
 
Natalie Santangelo put UR's first shot on goal in the 21st minute, forcing Mika Fisher to make her first of five saves.
 
Both teams would settle in over the final 20 minutes of the first half, after the two sides combined for nine shots over the first 25, UR and Amherst took just one apiece before the halftime buzzer sounded.
 
Gabi Chioccola nearly found Hannah Nagashima with a thru ball in the 34th minute, while Alyssa Doody sent her volley in the 41st minute wide, and Hallle Hanna missed high a little over two minutes before the break for the Mammoths.
 
Amherst picked up right where they left off to start the second, with Abigail Danso missing a shot from the top of the box wide right on a cross in UR couldn't clear.
 
The 'Jackets took things the other way off the goal kick and found the equalizer when Claire Grover passed it ahead to Natalie Santangelo for a score. Santangelo finished off Grover's pass with a left-footed shot to the top left of goal, leveling the score at one-all.
 
With the score now all tied up at one, Amherst took things the other way, looking to retake the lead, but Hanna's shot off a corner kick was blocked, while Kuropatkin made her first save of the evening, stopping Schwartz's 55th-minute shot to keep UR and Amherst knotted at one goal apiece.
 
Rochester again threatened offensively, and after Riya Kunderan drew a foul from about 32-yards out, UR found themselves with an opportunity to take the lead. UR did just that, as Sydney Holmes headed in Claudia Ferriera's free-kick for the score, beating Fisher to the lower-right corner of the next just past the 56-minute mark of the second half.
 
Just as quickly as Rochester tied it and took the lead though, Amherst would come right back with an equalizer of their own. Schwartz found Hanna with a long ball from near midfield, and the junior finished from about 10-yards out to the left side, evening the score at 2-2 with a little over 27 minutes to play.
 
Both teams would sub over the next 10 minutes, while Chioccola sent another shot on goal at Fisher in the 68th minute, while Kuropatkin made another save on Jessica Lomo's shot in the 74th minute, setting up an Amherst corner.
 
Off the corner, Kate Quigley nearly helped Amherst retake the lead, with her first shot blocked by her own teammate, while her second sailed just high.
 
Kuropatkin then made another save on Huynh's free kick, curled from just outside the box in the 77th minute, while Fisher matched UR's keeper with another save of her own at the 80:37 mark, stopping a header from Holmes that just missed the foot of Grover.
 
Just past the 81st-minute mark though, Amherst earned another corner after Schwartz beat her defender, and this time, the Mammoths converted to take a 3-2 lead. Ella Johnson sent the set piece in for Carter Hollingsworth, whose header found Huynh. Huynh, in traffic, got a shot off and scored off a deflection, giving the Mammoths a 1-0 lead with less than nine minutes to play.
 
Trailing 3-2, UR pressed offensively and sent another attempt on goal off the boot of Holmes, but again Fisher made the save. And over the final five minutes, Amherst was able to play keep away, earning an 89th-minute corner as they wasted away more than two minutes before the final buzzer sounded, finishing off the 3-2 victory.
 
Holmes and Santangelo led UR with a trio of shots, each scoring a goal, while Grover and Ferreira tallied UR's two assists. In goal, Kuropatkin made three saves, while Fisher made five for the visitors.
 
Amherst outshot UR for the contest, 17-11, but the 'Jackets had one more shot on goal, 7-6.
 
With the loss, Rochester wraps up the 2024 campaign at 12-4-3, while the Mammoths move to 13-1-6 and advance to the Sectional Round, where they'll face the Illinois Institute of Technology at a site to be determined.