Hamilton College's Eva Abel '22 scored three goals in the second half and the Continentals posted a 7-5 NESCAC win against the Amherst College Mammoths at Hamilton's Steuben Field on Saturday afternoon.  
 
The nationally ranked No. 24 Continentals held a 28-20 shot advantage and picked up 19 ground balls in their season opener. Hamilton will host the University of Rochester in a non-conference matchup on Wednesday, March 9 at 5 p.m.
 
Hamilton's Olivia Chiota '24 had one goal, two caused turnovers and three ground balls. Lauren Hamilton '22, Alana King '24 and Emma Toes '25 scored one goal each. Olivia Seymour '22 collected two assists and secured three of the team's four draw controls. Sarah Moore '22 led the Continentals with five ground balls and caused two turnovers. Caroline Dawson '23 chased down three ground balls.
 
Hamilton played three goalkeepers and they all performed exceptionally well. Maeve Luparello '23 started and made one save in the first quarter. Casey Fiore '24 stopped four shots in the second and third quarters, and Maggie Reville '22 turned away two shots in the fourth.
 
No. 19 Amherst was also making its season debut. The Mammoths carried a 12-4 edge on draw controls and were successful on 15 of 22 clear attempts. Becky Kendall and Sydney Larsen tallied two goals apiece, and Fiona Jones collected another. Larsen led Amherst with five draw controls, and Megan Larmann picked up four ground balls. Caroline Fischer made one save on five shots on goal in the first half and Caroline Stole stopped five in the second haf.
 
The Continentals struck first with 4:32 remaining in the first quarter on a free-position goal by Hamilton. Amherst evened the score with 1:18 left on a goal by Larsen. After a shot by Kendall nicked the crossbar, Larsen followed up with the rebound.
 
Hamilton started the second quarter with offensive pressure. Toes secured her first career goal as a Continental with 12:37 to go in the second quarter after a beautiful dish at the top of the crease from Seymour. Just 31 seconds later, Chiota tallied a goal after intercepting a pass and taking it coast-to-coast for a 3-1 advantage.
 
The Mammoths capitalized on a Hamilton turnover for their second goal. Ali Astrachan tossed the ball to Kendall who was right in front of the net with 6:27 left. The Continentals answered with 1:51 remaining on a free-position goal by King that extended their lead to 4-2 at the break.
 
After a slow start to the third quarter, Amherst pulled within one again on a goal by Jones with 5:54 to go. The Continentals failed to clear and Jones picked up the ground ball and took it to the other end of the field.
 
Hamilton quickly responded on a goal by Abel with 4:08 left. Abel rode the wave of excitement and secured her second goal of the afternoon with 3:36 remaining for a 6-3 lead. With the third quarter coming to an end, Amherst collected a free-position goal by Kendall with 27 seconds to go.
 
Abel put the Continentals up by three again with 10:00 remaining in the fourth on a rebound after a free-position attempt. She has 19 goals at Hamilton. Four minutes later, Amherst collected its final goal on an attack down the middle by Larsen.