Amherst, MA --- After forcing overtime on the road at #11 Amherst on a Lauren Meinhold (Boxboro, MA) goal in in the final four minutes of regulation, the WPI field hockey team dropped a heartbreaker to the host Mammoths 2-1 late in the first overtime session Wednesday evening at Hill Field.
 
With the result, Amherst, which is ranked 11th in the most recent Penn Monto/National Field Coaches Association Division III Top 25, improves to 3-0 while WPI sees its record slip to 1-3 on the season. 
 
The hosts got on the board first when Caroline Busler (Greenwich, CT) stripped the ball from a defender and launched a shot that snuck past the goalie for her third marker of the season at 11:57.
 
The game remained even until WPI capitalized on just its third corner of the game inside of four minutes remaining in regulation.  Eliza Dutson (Woodstock, CT) sent an insertion to  Meinhold at the top of the arc.  The tri-captain sent a rocket towards traffic around the net and the ball found the back of the net for her first goal of the season and first since October of 2022 for the fifth year, who missed the entire 2023 season due to injury.  It was Meinhold's ninth career goal. 
 
After the equalizer, Amherst would muster the only shot the rest of regulation, but Sam Maynard's (Charlestown, MA) bid went wide with just under two minutes to go.
 
Overtime was frantic with the team's combining for seven penalty corners and four shots before Maynard sent the Amherst fans home happy when she rebounded a ball that had been redirected by a WPI player and then off the post, into the back for the game winning goal at 68:26.
 
Throughout the game, the Mammoths had the upper-hand in both shots (18-6) and corners (12-6).
 
WPI's Ella Moreau (Huntington, MA) recorded a season-high 10 saves in net and was aided by a fourth-quarter defensive save by Maggie McCarthy (Worcester, MA).

Grace Puchalski (Waxhaw, NC) earned the in goal for Amherst, notching three stops and getting a helpful hand from Kate Savino (Darien, CT), who tallied a defensive save in the waning moments of the third stanza.
 
Both teams return to play this Saturday. WPI returns home to battle the University of New England at 1pm, while Amherst ventures to archrival Williams for a 11am NESCAC contest.