The Jeffs put together their second shutout in as many games by blanking Keene State 1-0. The Owls entered the match with a distinct advantage-they had been practicing since the beginning of August-while under NESCAC rules the Jeffs have only been practicing for two weeks. "We thought they'd be tough, but we knew that we could step it up against them," said forward Jeff Cantwell '04.
The only goal of the game was scored 18 minutes into the first half by forward Dave Michener '02. Co-captain Steve Squillario '01 sent a crossing pass to Michener, who converted easily. The backs also played well defensively. Casey Ryan '02 skillfully guarded an All-American Keene player throughout the game.
Amherst controlled the flow of play for most of the game, keeping the Owls in their own end of the pitch.
Even while controlling most of the flow of the game, the Jeffs were frustrated by the Owls defense.
"They were a very physical team," said goalie Bill Orum '02. "They had already played four games, while we were only playing our second." Orum had four saves as Amherst outshot Keene 15-11. Owls goalie David Nordmark made three saves.
Amherst's next match was against NESCAC rival Bates. They fell 2-1 after Bates College midfielder Bryan Stevens converted a penalty kick three minutes into the overtime period. The penalty kick was awarded after an Amherst handball in the penalty box.
Bates, which improved its record to 2-0, scored the first goal of the match near the end of the first half. Forward Bryan Luoma finished a crossing pass to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead going into halftime.
Amherst evened the score in the second half when forward Franklin Perry '04 gathered a loose ball in front of the net and put it past Bobcat goalie Dan Spector.
"I think we took them a little too lightly. They were better than we thought they were," said Michener.
The aggressive Bates attack confounded the Amherst gameplan. Bates won more of the 50-50 balls, and winning goalie Spector collected 12 saves while Amherst goalie Orum had three. The Jeffs had 17 shots as opposed to Bates' 13, but were unable to finish consistently.
Michener believes the team still has to work on improving on scoring chances and stepping up the intensity level.
"Even though it is still early in the season, we need to play a full game without letdowns," he said.
With the loss, Amherst dropped to 1-1 in conference play.
The men will play their next game Wednesday, Sept. 20, at Babson College at 4:00 p.m. This will be a non-conference game.